BEND — The city of John Day is making moves and gaining statewide recognition. The city received the “Under Construction” Award at the Oregon Brownfields and Infrastructure Conference for its work toward the redevelopment of the old Oregon Pine site.

The former Oregon Pine property is at the heart of the city’s plans for the Innovation Gateway, which call for a mix of retail, commercial and light industrial uses as well as public greenspace and amenities.

The conference, organized by the Northwest Environmental Business Council, was held Oct. 23-25 at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend. Mayor Ron Lundbom attended the conference and accepted the award on behalf of the city.

“The attendees and presenters at the conference were really impressed by the sheer volume of projects the city has going on related to the brownfields redevelopment of the former Oregon Pine site. The award is recognizing the amount of effort that goes into creating a suite of projects that all touch this theme of brownfields redevelopment and rehabilitation,” interim John Day City Manager Corum Ketchum said.

The award shines a light on the fact that other cities are talking about John Day, with many looking to emulate the things the city has done, Ketchum said.

“We’re setting a role model for rural revitalization and redevelopment by doing things like creatively reusing former brownfield sites and restoring them with community amenities and business space and working with our local and regional partners to address issues we’re all facing and doing things like housing redevelopment through our urban renewal agency,” he added.