The 99 Acre Split: Development above Columbia View Heights in TD?
The 99 Acres owned by North Wasco County School District is currently used for cattle. It also boasts some terrific views and some hilly topography with some interesting benches for vistas in all directions. Will the District sell it?
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., May 2, 2025 — The North Wasco County School District recently applied to the City of The Dalles to partition 99 acres into two sections with the idea of selling about 60 acres and retaining 40 in the event that a new school is needed in the future.
It’s not the first time the idea has been floated.
The District, which is looking to pass a bond for a new high school and has other major infrastructure needs, is attempting to secure funds for capital projects and the sale of 60 acres could help depending on how much it can bring.
The land is inside the City’s Urban Growth Boundary and is designated as rural residential, according to Wasco County Tax Records.
As raw land, the price would remain fairly low if kept in agricultural use - $300,000 conservatively, but as a subdivision development lots in that scenic section of The Dalles could go for a pretty penny.
Here is an overview of the land D21 has asked to partition into two lots - one of about 59.87 acres and the other 39.25 acres - see below.
Here is the map of the new proposed partitions. The smaller piece of land on the left would be kept by the district and the piece on the right could be sold.
Loose Figures
If 33 percent of the hilly property had to be used for infrastructure including streets, sidewalks and curbs, that would still leave about 40 acres for development. At 0.2 acre each - 8.712 square feet, there would be 200 lots and if they could be sold at around $70,000 a piece, the development could bring $14 million on the land alone. There is also money to be earned on home construction, which brings 20 percent of the home cost say about $16 million on $400,000 homes
Some speculate, that a fair amount of money could be earned on such a subdivision over time, but the School District is not in the business of building subdivisions and selling homes. Is there a partnership out there that could benefit the district as well as a developer? And could that help defray the cost of a new high school bond, which came in at $140 million in the November 2023 election. Voters shot it down.
Or is that a pipe dream?
Looking over the District Property just above the Oregon Veterans Home.
Is it just better for the district to retain the property for future development? Some are quick to point out that, they aren’t making more land and this particular piece could be a strategic location in the next 50 to 100 years.
There’s also another major question - likely the lynch pin to any kind of housing development.
Access to the property.
For years, access to Columbia View Heights has been difficult as residents have to drive on steep Hwy. 197, which has fast moving traffic headed to Washington or Bend via The Dalles Bridge. Residents on the Heights have to use the highway to leave the neighborhood and it has been described by many as dangerous. It lacks on- and off-ramps to provide safe entry or exit.
Here is a view of the access road off of Highway 197 into Auction Sales Co. above Columbia View Heights.
The School district contemplated the sale of the property about 15 years ago, according to Rocky Webb, who owns the nearby Auction Sales Co. at 1400, Hwy. 197.
He was approached about his access off Highway 197.
The access point created in 1959 is good for “livestock trucks and traffic and it would fit them well,” he said, when asked about an easement deal.
“I don’t know if I am interested or not,” he said.
It’s hard to find a bad view on this piece of land.
“They tried to develop it once before and they had a real problem,” he said. “Even the Highway Department tried to put an entry off 197, and it was too difficult and it still is today. But that does not mean it is impossible.”
Webb noted that the orchard to the south is outside the Urban Growth Bounday and is in the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area. He said the commission killed plans to put a road through the orchard some years ago.
“I am always open to some discussion. That does not cost anything,” he said. “I still got an auction company to work there. If I sold it, I have to go get another site and get it approved to continue to do an auction and that might be a real problem.”
“But you never know when someone comes up with a good idea to make it all fit.”
With the need for housing in The Dalles - some estimate a lack of 500 housing units currently - it may be that the timing is right and the political will exists to push forward on such a project.
On the other hand, The 80-unit Grove subdivision, at 2845 E. 12th Street bordered by Richmond Street to the east, East 10th Street to the north, and East 12th Street to the south, was approved in 2021 and has not broken ground. The project with 6.92 acres is for sale for $1.7 million.
A 78-unit project of apartments and townhouses in the Lone Pine subdivision has also idled after it was approved in February 2024, as the developers are waiting on favorable interest rates.
The Basalt Commons on the former site of Griffith Motors across from Sawyers Hardware in downtown The Dalles with 114 apartments has also yet to begin.
And the latest subdivision — a 29-home subdivision on East 21st Street has been slowed by a recent appeal by neighbors.
