Christian Science building survey results are in

By Terry Murry on Tuesday, July 16th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – A survey of what Pendletonians want to see happen to the Christian Science building at South Main Street and Southwest Byers Avenue was held during the month of May. Now the results are in and the Christian Science Building Community Outreach Subcommittee will report the results to the Pendleton City Council when it meets at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday). The city was given the building by the Bisnett family.

The survey, which was available both online and in paper form. Two open houses were also held to solicit input. In addition the building was on a stop on the History Preserved Building tours. Duplicate surveys were removed which left the subcommittee with only 239 of the questionnaires.

The top suggestion for the building was an indoor market place, which received 95 votes. Second, with 85 votes, was a café or restaurant. A rentable events center garnered 77 votes while a performing arts venue received 60 votes.

A total of 155 citizens supported a combined building and plaza project. As for funding, 184 favored grant funding while the remainder were split almost 50/50 on a bond measure. Preserving the building was a consistent concern among respondents and parking was also a consistent concern. Also respondents expressed the need for more family and youth-friendly options in the downtown area. Also important was connecting the building to both the downtown and the Pendleton River Parkway.

MyCB photo by Dan Thesman