Jackstraw: A New Landmark for Bend

As part of the project’s design-build team, ColeBreit Engineering provided mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services for Jackstraw, Bend’s first LEED Platinum multifamily mixed‑use community and one of the city’s most ambitious residential projects to date.

Jackstraw sits between downtown Bend and the Old Mill District, on a 4.7‑acre site adjacent to the Box Factory and the Deschutes River. It brings 313 all‑electric apartments and townhomes across two mid‑rise buildings, layered over structured parking and ground‑floor retail, which now hosts local tenants such as Sisters Coffee Company, Drybar, and The Way West. Designed by SERA Architects and developed by Killian Pacific, the project combines rooftop terraces, landscaped podium gardens, coworking spaces, and a pedestrian‑focused “Lava Pass” street to reflect Bend’s outdoor lifestyle and community‑centered living.

ColeBreit was engaged by two design‑build partners to provide mechanical, plumbing, and electrical engineering for Jackstraw. “We worked with Apollo Mechanical on mechanical and plumbing, and with EC Electric for the electrical engineering scope,” says Rob James, Principal at ColeBreit and project manager for the mechanical and plumbing systems. From early design through permit submittal and construction, ColeBreit guided the building’s core systems, helping translate an ambitious vision into durable, efficient infrastructure that integrate seamlessly with the architecture.

Jackstraw is among the largest multifamily projects built in Bend, with two residential towers, a five‑story and a six‑story structure, more than 40 distinct unit types, integrated townhomes, extensive shell retail space, and two levels of parking below. “It was 300‑plus dwelling units in two different towers, with a number of townhomes on the lower level and significant retail shell above two levels of parking. It’s one of the largest multifamily projects in Bend,” James explains. That complexity demanded careful zoning of air, water, and power across vertically stacked uses, as well as meticulous coordination in tight ceiling cavities over restrooms where waste lines, exhaust ductwork, and other systems intersect.

Jackstraw is designed as Bend’s first LEED Platinum multifamily development, with net‑zero‑ready, all‑electric building systems, Fitwel certification, and pollinator‑friendly landscaping supported by on‑site beehives. For ColeBreit, energy performance was a central design driver. The team deployed high‑efficiency vertical terminal heat pump systems for all dwelling units and VRF (variable refrigerant flow) systems for the shell commercial spaces, pairing comfort and controllability with strong energy performance.

On the ground floor, Jackstraw’s retail program is curated to bring local coffee, dining, and services to the Southern Crossing neighborhood, including Sisters Coffee Company, Drybar, and The Way West. ColeBreit’s design anticipated food‑service uses before tenants were finalized, providing shafts up to the roof for grease exhaust, make‑up air, and appropriately sized louvers along the exterior for ventilation. “We had to design provisions for restaurant use in a couple of spaces—shafts to the roof for grease exhaust and make‑up air back down, plus enough louver space to accommodate whatever the likely tenants would need,” James notes.

Jackstraw’s construction phase required constant coordination across disciplines. ColeBreit worked closely with its trades partners to resolve dense routing challenges, especially in areas where plumbing stacks and exhaust paths competed for limited ceiling depth. “There was a lot of very tight coordination in the ceilings of the dwelling units, particularly over the restrooms, to align waste lines from above with ductwork for exhaust fans,” says James. That level of granular problem‑solving helped maintain both architectural intent and system performance without sacrificing serviceability.

Large mixed‑use projects demand careful trade‑offs between long‑term efficiency, upfront cost, and constructability. On Jackstraw, the ownership team and contractors supported a high‑performance approach, enabling ColeBreit to specify systems that would meet the project’s sustainability goals without overcomplicating operations. “You have to take budget, constructability, and operations all into account,” James says. The result is an all‑electric building whose systems are designed to “work and stay invisible” for residents—because when mechanical and electrical systems fade into the background, it usually means they are functioning exactly as intended.

For ColeBreit, Jackstraw is both a milestone and a reflection of how the firm approaches complex work in Central Oregon. “We have a lot of experience in multifamily and other market sectors,” James explains. “We understand the design process, we understand the construction process, and our internal process allows us to work collaboratively and consistently to solve problems as they arise, especially when timetables and cost might be impacted.” That collaboration shows up in responsive review of submittals and RFIs, page‑turn sessions with design partners, and a grounded focus on keeping systems reliable and unobtrusive once a building opens.

The Jackstraw project highlights ColeBreit’s ability to deliver integrated MEP solutions for large, sustainability‑driven developments in its home market. As Bend continues to grow and embrace more mixed‑use, high‑performance projects, ColeBreit’s work at Jackstraw stands as a clear example of how thoughtful engineering can quietly support the kind of places where people want to live, gather, and connect.