Work on old forest service building continues

By Terry Murry on Tuesday, July 18th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – Last year was a record year for new housing in Pendleton. A total of 299 new housing permits were issued.

“We won’t ever do that again in one year, I don’t think,” Mayor John Turner said. “We had two large projects – the Westgate Apartments and the South Hill Commons – come in for their permits in the same year and that’s what drove our number up so high.”

Meanwhile, work has been going on for some time to convert the old U.S. Forest Service Building above Burger King into apartments. City Manager Robb Corbett visited the building about a month ago and said at that time two-thirds of the units needed sheet rock while the other third looked almost complete.

“What a massive undertaking to convert what was an office complex into multi-family,” Corbett said. “They had to do a lot of excavation just to get plumbing in, and that is solid rock.”

He said the developer, Justin Pratt of the Tri-Cities, has made a big investment in turning his vision into reality.

“They’re looking really good,” Corbett said. “I’m excited to see those come on the marketplace.”

Photo is a screenshot from Google Maps