There might not be a plot of land in Corvallis that has inspired more discussion than the acreage along the now-extended Northwest Circle Boulevard between Witham Hill Drive and Harrison Boulevard.
It took eight annexation votes, the final one in 2004, to get the 95 acres of property into the cityâs stock of land. It took until 2015 for city land use actions and state court battles to wind up, with the final decisions allowing the construction of 900 bedrooms of student housing.
Along the way the project changed hands twice and morphed from Campus Crest to College Crest to the Domain Corvallis before it was built by Corvue Holdings, a Chicago-based privately held national real estate and development company that specializes in purpose-built student housing.
The RV and car camping facility in Corvallisâ Pioneer Park has reopened.
Parks and Recreation Department employees began admitting campers Tuesday morning, one week after the lot was cleared to allow time to stripe the lot, add amenities and use an application process to ensure that all campers have local ties.
By noon Tuesday two RVs already were in their numbered slots, and Jason Quick, the owner of a third RV, had stopped by to pick up his permit and forms. Quick, who owns a 45-foot motorhome, has been staying at the Benton Oaks RV Campground at the Benton County Fairgrounds.
Six-plus months into his sixth year as city manager of Corvallis, Mark Shepard is working through a routine period dominated by the coronavirus, homelessness and the need to replace more than 120 years of staff institutional knowledge.
In other words itâs business as usual for a person seeking to manage a city of nearly 60,000 people.
âItâs certainly a very interesting and challenging job,â said Shepard, 55, in a bit of an understatement.â
Shepard participated in a pair of dual Gazette-Times interviews, one via email and one via telephone, in an effort to provide an overview of his tenure with the city, which began May 1, 2015.