Sutherlin is a city in Southern Oregon, Douglas County, also known as the Umpqua Valley.
Roseburg, the county seat of Douglas County and the main hub for the area, is about 12 miles south of Sutherlin. Romtec is just east of Roseburg along the North Umpqua River.
Interstate 5 runs through Sutherlin connecting it with other major cities in the region, including Eugene to the north and Medford to the south. State Route 99 and 138 also go through Sutherlin.
The population of Sutherlin was 8,524 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populous city in the county, behind Roseburg.
Sutherlin is in the middle of the Umpqua Valley wine country with a variety of wineries within close driving distance. Some of the major wineries in the area include Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards, Cooper Ridge Vineyards, Joseph Jane Winery, Triple Oake Vineyard, Trella Vineyards, Abacela, and Paul O’Brien Vineyards.
Some of the major attractions in Sutherlin include Cooper Creek Reservoir, Sutherlin Community Playground, Oak Hills Golf Club, Lighthouse Center Bakery, Sutherlin Dog Park, the Umpqua River, and Ford’s Pond.
Ford’s Pond is a 202-acre property with trails going around a large pond that provides exceptional bird viewing, fishing, kayaking, and walking activities.
Friends of Ford’s Pond currently maintain a 1.75-mile primitive path around the 95-acre pond and a more challenging 1-mile primitive loop trail on the west hillside. The nonprofit formed in 2014 and successfully advocated for a new park on the vacant 202-acre Ford’s Pond property.
Over 185 bird species, including bald eagles are recorded at Ford’s Pond making it a birding hot spot.
Path paving, new parking, a restroom building, a pavilion, and a new playground were completed to improve Ford’s Pond.
The City of Sutherlin, who owns the Ford’s Pond property, reached out to Romtec because they knew we were a local company and wanted to keep the work local. The project’s intention was to develop the area around the pond to include a playground, trails, and fishing, a restroom and shade structures for visitors.
This is all new construction and Romtec performed this as a turnkey project for two pavilions and a restroom. The City of Sutherlin purchased the buildings directly via Sourcewell.
We worked directly with the owner to define the materials and design for each building.
The Romtec restroom building that we provided to Ford’s Pond has four single user unisex restrooms with a mechanical room, and a roof extension. The restroom building features a metal roof, CMU split face concrete block wall, resawn timber truss and post roof extension, gable vents, vent boots, and gable ridge vents.
The two pavilions feature metal roofs, Romtec wood trusses with re-sawn members, a concrete walkway, knee braces, and wood columns that complement the restroom building features.
The new pavilions and restroom provide picnic space and a covered area for visitors to enjoy the sights of the pond, birds, and surrounding hills.
Keeping the same exterior aesthetic of the buildings is helpful for the overall look and feel of the park area. Romtec worked with the owners, the City of Sutherlin, on this project, to provide materials and a desirable look to fit with the surroundings.
Romtec was proud to partner with the City of Sutherlin, to help make Ford’s Pond more enjoyable and accessible for everyone with our turnkey restroom and pavilions. Romtec provided the design, supply, and construction of all three buildings on behalf of the City of Sutherlin.