Foreclosed land in Pendleton will soon have as many as 45 new homes on the lots over the next few years.

The Eastern Oregonian reports that the Pendleton’s Sunridge Estates could welcome as many as 45 homes over the next few years. Here are the details on the transaction.

The southern Pendleton subdivision off of Tutuilla Road was part of a $660,000 deal with local developer Dusty Pace that the Pendleton City Council unanimously approved Tuesday.

Under the deal, Pace would redevelop 13 of the 17 lots and purchase all of them within seven years. Pace plans to re-plat the land into 45 lots and buy them each individually from the city for $15,000 per lot.

The $660,000 acts as both a floor and a ceiling. If he spends $660,000 but hasn’t purchased all the lots yet, he’ll automatically acquire the rest of the land. If he has spent less than $660,000 by the end of the seven-year period, he must make up the difference to close out the deal.

In a previous interview, Pace said he intends to build three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes and sell them in the range of $180,000 to $300,000.

The city was forced to play the role of real estate agent when Umatilla County foreclosed on the properties, which had city liens on them through a local improvement district.

The city still owes $759,287 to Banner Bank on the local improvement district and isn’t set to finish paying off the debt until 2025. Staff will use the proceeds from the sale to Pace and $162,000 in refunded money from a community development block grant to cover the costs.

Before voting on the deal, the council met behind closed doors to discussion the transaction. When they re-emerged, they unanimously approved the deal. The council also approved a separate motion from City Councilor Scott Fairley to use money from the block grant refund to cover the system development charge revenue that was waived.

It's nice seeing some more growth in Pendleton and the new homes will be a welcome addition to the area.

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