Coos Bay examines housing, infrastructure options for 16-acre Bay Area Hospital opportunity site

Coos Bay city staff, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and a consultant team outlined concept plans on April 2025 for the Bay Area Hospital Opportunity Site, a roughly 16-acre parcel the Bay Area Health District has declared surplus, and asked residents for input on housing, trails and infrastructure trade-offs.

The project team described two early concepts that differ on vehicle access, trail connections and engineering costs. Chelsea Schnabel, the city’s community development director, said the study aims to produce a concept plan and a feasibility analysis to present to the City Council and the Bay Area Health District board. “This project is really an example of community partnerships,” Schnabel said.

Why this matters: the parcel sits adjacent to the hospital campus and residential neighborhoods and could contribute to Coos Bay’s housing supply while also raising environmental and infrastructure questions. The concept work will inform whether and how the site could support housing of varying types, trail connections and other community amenities while remaining financially feasible for a developer or partner.

City and state roles and schedule The city is leading the project in partnership with the Bay Area Health District (the landowner) and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), which is funding the work through its Transportation Growth Management (TGM) program. Nicole (Nikki) Cross, a land use and transportation planner with DLCD, described TGM as a grant program that channels…