Designed by Hugh Thompson of Bend, who is understood to have had a role in the legendary—now vanished—Pilot Butte Inn in Bend, the New Redmond Hotel at 521 SW Sixth Street in Redmond has been part of Restore Oregon’s Historic Conservation Easement Program since 1987. For 33 years, Restore Oregon has held an easement on the Redmond Hotel, a National Historic Register-listed property, helping to protect the structure from neglect, demolition, and changes that would obscure its historic integrity.
 
The three-story, red brick New Redmond Hotel, completed in 1928, replaced an earlier two-story frame building of 1906 that had burned in June of 1927. It is one of the largest and best-known buildings in Redmond, and it has functioned historically as a social and business focal point in the city center. 
 
The grand opening of the restrained Georgian building on July 27, 1928 was marked by a banquet for 350 persons, tours of the rooms, a dance, luncheon, and a meeting of the Central Oregon Jersey Breeders. The hotel, with 43,500 square feet of space, was reported to have been completed at a cost of $150,000. It was praised in advertisements and editorials as “the finest hotel east of .” Reflecting the optimism that greeted the opening of the automobile era everywhere, the proprietors were prepared to offer the “best possible service at the lowest possible price [$1.00 to $2.50 per day], for the “thousands of cars traveling through Redmond in the years ahead.”
 
The New Redmond Hotel is recently rehabilitated and reopened for its original purpose. The revival of The New Hotel Redmond by Soul.Community.Planet. (SCP) Hotels included transforming the historic gem into a stylish, modern vision of the Central Oregon aesthetic and lifestyle. Its four stories, topped by an all-new small plate dining experience, The Rooftop, includes 49 rooms with SCP’s trademark mindful, minimalist style, including the use of sustainable and regionally-sourced materials. 
 
The property, designed by Kelly Ogden of Portland-based ELK Collective, is located at the epicenter of Redmond’s downtown renaissance. The renovation was made possible through a public-private partnership between the City of Redmond and developer, Ken Cruse, CEO and co-founder of Alpha Wave. The renovation preserved the property’s historic character in accordance with its historic conservation easement, while merging its classical design with elements of SCP’s trademark mindful, eco-friendly style. 
 
The New Redmond Hotel project has been at least seven years in the making. The City of Redmond’s urban renewal agency helped pay for about half of SCP Redmond’s $7 million cost (as well as providing another $830,000 in the form of a low-interest loan). After the City’s initial agreement to loan $670,000, the amount was increased to $2.75 million once developers realized the scope of the project. The agreement includes a stipulation that the building remain a hotel for 30 years.
 
Interested in learning more?
Visit www.restoreoregon.org/conservation-easements/
https://www.scphotel.com/redmond/
Email katelyn@restoreoregon.org
 
 
Did you know?
 
Restore Oregon’s historic conservation easement program is the only way to permanently save a historic building in Oregon?
 
Since 1981, Restore Oregon has been protecting 44 historic properties through our Historic Conservation Easement Program. With a full-time staff member administering the program and an easement committee filled with experts in the field of historic preservation, Restore Oregon is fully equipped to lead a successful and sustainable easement program.
 

What is a historic conservation easement?

  • A legally binding agreement to protect a historic property from activities that may harm the property’s integrity, including neglect, demolition, and insensitive alterations. 
  • It allows the owner of a historic property to retain title and use of the property and, at the same time, ensure its long-term preservation. 
  • An easement typically includes the exterior envelope of a property and airspace above, but can include interior elements.

Benefits

  • Protection of a donor’s personal interest in preserving their family’s heritage and home.
  • Preservation of a building on which an owner has spent considerable time and resources restoring.
  • Potential for tax savings and/or reduction in estate, gift and capital gains taxes.
  • Improvement of one’s community through long-term preservation of a significant landmark.
  • Long-term professional assistance with technical preservation issues.