North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke wants the Oregon coast city's downtown to be a place where more people can live as well as shop and work.
The city has supported improvements to business storefronts and is planning workforce housing at the former Coos County Courthouse Annex site. The housing project has $4 million in federal funding but remains in the planning stage.
North Bend is sometimes confused with Bend in Central Oregon. Engelke has a quick way to distinguish her hometown.
“We are the Bend by the beach,” she said. “It’s a great place to visit and it’s also a really great place to live.”
Engelke grew up in North Bend and returned in 2010 after 19 years away. Alongside her work as mayor, she teaches business at Southwestern Oregon Community College.
“I just kept thinking about how do I help make this place even better than it already is and create an atmosphere where people want to live, work, and play,” she said.
Engelke sees support for small businesses as part of that work. North Bend has a Main Street program, and its urban renewal agency has backed facade improvements. The planned housing project would add homes downtown, near those businesses.
Oregon’s property tax limits constrain city budgets, making growth an important part of Engelke’s approach.
“If you don’t grow, you die,” she said.
She also points to community events, small downtown parks and infrastructure improvements as signs of progress.
“I think that when you drive through North Bend, you can actually see the improvements with your very own eyes,” she said.
Guest
- Jessica Engelke, mayor, North Bend, Oregon
