For nearly 20 years, Dale Van Valkenburg has helped shape some of Bend’s most recognizable neighborhoods as an urban planner with Brooks Resources. With more than three decades of experience in Central Oregon, Dale has worked on some notable westside projects including NorthWest Crossing, Tree Farm, and most recently, Discovery West.
Today, he’s not just planning communities for a living; he’s living in one he planned.
We sat down with Dale to talk about Discovery West, what it’s like to move from planner to resident, and what he’s learned along the way.
Q: What originally drew you to work for Brooks Resources?
Dale:
I was initially drawn to Brooks because of the kind of communities they were building with their partners: walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods like NorthWest Crossing. They weren’t just subdivisions; they were places designed for connection. I really appreciated the company’s long view perspective that takes into account overall community benefit in addition to a simple pro forma of expected costs and profits. I wouldn’t want to work for a developer that did not share this perspective.
Q: How did Discovery West come to life?
Dale:
The early ideas started more than a decade ago during the City of Bend’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) process, when we were thinking about how to expand west of NorthWest Crossing in a thoughtful way. The vision was to create a natural transition, or transect, from the commercial core of NorthWest Crossing to quieter, lower-density areas closer to Shevlin Park.
Discovery West became the next chapter once the UGB process wrapped up in 2016. It needed a name that honored its roots while establishing its own identity. “Discovery West” felt right, a nod to NorthWest Crossing’s Corps of Discovery theme and its location farther west.
Q: What were the biggest priorities in planning Discovery West?
Dale:
Walkability and connection. Streets designed to slow traffic. Sidewalks separated from cars. Alleys to keep garages off the main streets. Easy access to parks, trails, and everyday amenities.
We also sought to incorporate a variety of housing types, so we engaged Dan Parolek of Opticos Design who developed the concept of “missing middle housing.” With Dan’s help, our team designed a mixed-use area in the heart of Discovery West that would come to include a variety of housing types arrayed around a public plaza lined by small retail spaces. This space eventually became Discovery Corner, a central gathering space; a place where neighbors could meet, linger, and build relationships.
Q: You recently built a home in Discovery West. What prompted that decision?
Dale:
I had the opportunity one day in 2024 to review plans for an upcoming home that one of our Guild Builders was planning. I remember thinking it was a great floorplan and it sparked a conversation with my wife, Amy. That simple “What if?” thought and conversation turned into a bigger decision.
We selected a lot in phase 6/7 and a Guild Builder and design team that we knew and trusted. My late wife, Charlotte, was a talented architect before she passed away in a tragic car accident in 2019. She had previously designed the homes we had lived in, and it was bittersweet going through this process without her. My daughter, Meredith, now an architect like her mother before her, helped us figure out some of the design challenges, making the process incredibly meaningful for all of us. For Amy and me, as a recently married couple, it was very important for us to design and build our new home together just the way we wanted it as a place for us to grow and nourish our new shared life. We feel like we accomplished our goal and love both the shared experience and the end result!
Moving into our new custom home over Thanksgiving 2025 felt like the culmination of years of professional effort and personal change.
Q: What’s it like living in a neighborhood you helped design?
Dale:
It’s both satisfying and surreal. I spent years walking this land before there were streets or homes. Now I’m walking my dogs on sidewalks and trails I helped plan.
The trail network is one of my biggest joys. Just steps from our door, we can connect to miles of paths leading to Shevlin Park and beyond. It’s easy to walk to Discovery Corner or over to NorthWest Crossing for dinner. The daily experience reinforces why those early planning decisions mattered.
Q: Has living there changed your perspective as a planner?
Dale:
Absolutely. When you live in a place you’ve helped create, you feel every decision, good and bad. Street layout, access to parks, proximity to retail… those have huge long-term impacts.
Living here reinforces how important it is to envision yourself as a resident during the design process. You have to imagine daily life — walking the dog, greeting neighbors, grabbing coffee — not just what looks good on a site plan.
It’s also a reminder that no neighborhood is perfect. Affordability remains one of the biggest challenges, not just in Discovery West, but across our region. While Discovery West’s current price point puts homeownership out of reach for many, affordable housing has always been part of the community’s master plan. From the beginning, the vision included a mix of housing types and price points, including subsidized affordable housing planned for a future phase. That said, the broader housing crisis requires solutions at a scale far beyond any single neighborhood.
Q: What does it mean to you personally to live here?
Dale:
As I near the later chapters of my career, I recognize that neighborhoods like Discovery West will outlive me. In some ways, they’re part of my legacy.
I hope decades from now people still feel the same sense of connection to this place that I do today. If they’re walking these streets and trails, meeting neighbors, and enjoying the landscape — then we did something right.
And if you see me and Amy walking our dogs around the neighborhood, please say hello. I’d love to hear your story, too.
