What Is Jackstraw in Bend, Oregon?

Jackstraw is the newest name buyers ask me about when they are looking at homes near the Old Mill District, mostly because it is impossible to miss. It is a genuinely large development, and it opened recently enough that a lot of people, even longtime Bend residents, are still asking what exactly it is. I am a real estate agent in Bend, Oregon helping relocation buyers and local move-up buyers, and here is the honest rundown.

What Jackstraw Actually Is

Jackstraw is a mixed-use apartment and retail development built by Killian Pacific, the same developer behind the neighboring Box Factory, on a 4.7 acre site between Industrial Way and Lava Road. The project includes 313 units of apartments and townhomes, along with roughly 17,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. It is a large, deliberate investment, reported in city records at somewhere between $127 million and $172 million depending on the source, and it opened to tenants starting in 2025.

Jackstraw and the Box Factory are directly connected by a shared streetscape, and the section of Lava Road between the two properties can close for events, markets, and concerts, which is meant to make the whole area function as one connected district rather than two separate developments.

What’s There

The ground floor is where Jackstraw earns its relevance to daily life in that part of Bend. Retail tenants include Sisters Coffee Company, running a sizable café space, and Drybar, along with other local shops and restaurants filling out the storefronts. It is built to complement the Box Factory’s existing lineup rather than compete with it, so the combined district covers a wide range: coffee, drinks, dining, fitness, and retail, all within a short walk.

Is Jackstraw a Place to Buy a Home?

This is the most important thing to understand about Jackstraw: it is an apartment community, not for-sale housing. If you are relocating to Bend and picturing Jackstraw as a place to buy, that is not what it is. Its real relevance to buyers is what it signals about the surrounding area and what it adds to the walkable amenities near SW Bend, Old Mill, and the Box Factory district.

For buyers who want to be near this kind of energy, that means looking at homes in the surrounding neighborhoods rather than at Jackstraw itself.

Why It Matters to Homebuyers

A $127 to $172 million investment next to an already-successful district like the Box Factory tells you something concrete about where that part of Bend is headed. It adds foot traffic, more dining and retail options within walking distance, and a genuinely more active streetscape to a corner of town that was already popular with buyers who want walkability without living directly downtown. I bring Jackstraw up with SW Bend and Old Mill buyers specifically because it changes the day-to-day experience of living nearby, even though you cannot buy a unit there yourself.

Common Questions Buyers Ask

Can I buy a home or condo at Jackstraw? No. Jackstraw is an apartment community, not for-sale real estate. It has no homeownership product.

How is Jackstraw connected to the Box Factory? They sit next to each other and share a connecting streetscape, with the same developer, Killian Pacific, behind both projects.

What’s actually at Jackstraw? 313 apartment and townhome units, plus about 17,500 square feet of ground-floor retail, including Sisters Coffee Company and Drybar.

Does Jackstraw affect home values nearby? It is a meaningful piece of the growth story in that part of Bend. A major investment like this next to an already-popular district is generally a positive signal for the surrounding area, though I always look at actual comparable sales with a buyer rather than treating any single development as proof of anything on its own.

Should relocation buyers care about Jackstraw? If walkability to coffee, dining, and retail is on your list, yes, it is worth knowing it is there, even if you end up buying a house a few blocks away rather than renting at Jackstraw itself.

Want the honest picture of what homes near the Box Factory and Jackstraw actually look like right now? Call or text me at 541-610-5144, email [email protected], or find me at gobendhomes.com.

Kelly Johnson | Go Bend Homes | Bend, Oregon Realtor since 2007 | Live Where You Love