Keizer City Council approves Chemawa Station development

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer

KEIZER -- Several fast food restaurants, a hotel, brewery and gas station will be among some of the newest tenants at Chemawa Station with construction potentially starting by late summer.

On Monday, April 17, the Keizer City Council voted to direct city staff to prepare an order adopting a proposed master plan amendment for parcels of Chemawa Station, a retail development project jointly owned by the Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes.

The development is located between Chemawa Road Northeast and the Keizer water tower, and the area which will be developed is south of Ulali Drive, across from Chick-Fil-A and 7-Eleven.

Grand Ronde Tribal Council Secretary Michael Langley attended the Monday meeting and spoke about the project at the Legislative Action Committee meeting held the following day.

“We presented our new plan last night to the Keizer City Council and I’m glad to report back that it was approved,” he said. “So that (was) the final impediment for us and now we’re going forward with the next space in that project and there's some really exciting tenants. And we met afterward with a group that's planning a baseball field nearby.

“One of our plans for the development is a hotel and they were really excited to hear that because that fits in with what they are going to need. If they're bringing tournaments from all over, they're going to need some hotel space.”

Tribal consultant Alan Roodhouse, who is working with the Tribes to develop the project, also attended the City Council meeting along with Siletz Tribal Chairwoman Delores Pigsley.

“It’s really important that we work together amongst ourselves here at council and also with other councils,” Langley said. “I think it is a powerful statement.”

The Tribes plan to develop three fast-food restaurants, a coffee/donut shop, sit-down restaurant, brewery, retail space, quick lubrication vehicle outlet, convenience store with a gas station, car wash, tire store and a 92-room hotel.

 “This is a historic day,” said Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark after the unanimous vote.

In January 2020, the Grand Ronde Tribal Council approved a lease with 7-Eleven Inc. to build a convenience store at Chemawa Station. In February 2021, the Keizer City Council unanimously approved a plan for Georgia-based fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A to build its seventh Oregon eatery at the site.

The Federal Highway Administration transferred ownership of the 15.7-acre Chemawa Station property to the Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes under the Indian Self-Determination Act in 2002. Ground was officially broken on the site in December 2019.

Includes information from Keizer Times