Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland articles from April 2007

Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland archives from April 2007

Neighborhood in Portland, fearing bad design, sees preservation as protection.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Protecting the homes of the past may lead to a louder voice in what can and can't be built for one Southeast Portland neighborhood that's a target for infill development. Buckman Community Association activists see...

Portland Construction Briefs: April 2, 2007.
April 2, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan "On the boards" is a weekly roundup of Portland projects in the pipeline that will shed light on some of Oregon firms' best-but-below-the-radar design work. Submissions from Oregon and Southwest Washington architectural...

Portland Pacesetters: April 2, 2007.
April 2, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff INSURANCE Allstate Insurance Co. has recognized agent Ted Freeland of West Linn for his 10 years of service at Allstate. Freeland's agency sells auto, property, commercial and life insurance. REAL ESTATE NAI Norris,...

Oregon-Columbia of AGC to update members on Wash. Legislature.
April 2, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon-Columbia chapter of Associated General Contractors will hold a mid-session update on new capital projects, regulations and changes to the public bidding process likely to pass this year in the Washington state...

Project in Vancouver up for home builders' award.
April 2, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff William Wilson Architects is one of six finalists for a 2007 National Association of Home Builders Pillars of the Industry award. Esther Short Commons, a William Wilson-designed urban, mixed-use affordable housing project...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 2, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Due to a copy-editing error, Apprenticeship bill is a study in politics, a Page 5 commentary piece by John Killin in the March 29 DJC, misidentified the agency that accepts and rejects new apprenticeship programs. The...

Italy's Richard Rogers wins '07 Pritzker Prize.
April 2, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Architect Richard Rogers has won the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Rogers, 73, was born in Florence, Italy, and studied architecture at the Architectural Association and at Yale University. His firm, Richard Rodgers...

Builders take charter school to east Multnomah County.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Libby Tucker Four school districts in east Multnomah County are backing a construction industry charter school proposal rejected by the Portland Public Schools board of education in December. The Parkrose, Centennial,...

Construction scholarships to be awarded in Portland.
April 3, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Schweiger Memorial Scholarship Fund and Advanced American Construction Inc. have awarded $35,000 to 13 students for the 2007-2008 school year. Students were selected from a pool of 60 applicants for their demonstrated...

Portland Pacesetters: April 3, 2007.
April 3, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff DESIGN HLB Otak Inc. has hired Kathryn Moore. Moore joins the Gearhart office of HLB Otak as a survey CAD technician. She has supported engineering projects on the Oregon coast, focusing on the production of CAD drawings...

Kemper group to build town center in Milwaukie.
April 3, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff A team led by Portland developer Tom Kemper will build Milwaukie's town center project, the regional government Metro and city of Milwaukie decided last week. Initial plans of development group Main Street Partners call...

Libertarian road advocate to talk Portland transport.
April 3, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Wendell Cox, a transportation policy consultant who advocates a libertarian approach to urban development, will speak Wednesday in Portland about traffic congestion, rising housing costs, mass transit, demographic trends...

Does Portland need more downtown hotels?
April 4, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan A proposal for a new downtown hotel showed up last week on the city's public meetings schedule. Portland could use another, industry sources say - but success of any new venture would depend on what type of hotel...

Portland Construction Briefs: April 4, 2007.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Dan Carter The International School at 025 S.W. Sherman Street will soon move into new language classrooms, a music room and an art studio. A former 15,000-square-foot garage adjacent to the school's main campus in Southwest...

Oregon tweaks structural, mechanical building codes.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Libby Tucker New statewide building codes that took effect this week for commercial and mechanical contractors will most affect restaurant and night club construction. The Oregon Building Codes Division on Sunday amended the...

Portland Pacesetters: April 4, 2007.
April 4, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff LAW Barran Liebman LLP, an employment and labor law firm, has hired Jeffrey Robertson. Robertson joins the firm as a partner with nearly 12 years of experience. Prior to joining Barran Liebman, Robertson practiced...

Portland-based real estate agency Guardian Management moves into Arizona apartment market.
April 4, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Portland-based real estate agency Guardian Management LLC on Monday said it had acquired three properties in Phoenix with a combined 718 market-rate units. Guardian and its partners will invest about $7 million in...

Motorola wraps $39M buyout of Tut Systems.
April 4, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Motorola Inc. last week completed its acquisition of Lake Oswego broadband software provider Tut Systems Inc. for $39 million. The two companies agreed to merge in December. The transaction was approved by Tut Systems...

Portland-based Guardian Management to spend $5M on Wash. apartment rehab.
April 5, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Portland-based Guardian Management LLC on Wednesday said it had purchased the former Park Sheridan Apartments in Lake Forest Park, Wash. and would rename the complex Watercrest. Guardian will invest about $5 million in...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 5, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Rep. Thatcher cries foul in suit against ODOT, a Page 3 story in the March 30 DJC, incorrectly stated that contractor claims filed against the Oregon Department of Transportation totaled $111 million since 2002. The...

Portland plays game of biodiesel 'Survivor'.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Libby Tucker If Oregon enacts a proposed 2 percent renewable fuel standard this year, Portland, with higher standards than the rest of the state, will become a "fuel island." And with the city's requirements going into effect July...

Green design, global contributions spur Portlanders' AIA fellowships.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Nels Hall of Yost Grube Hall and Kent Duffy of SRG Partnership were among 76 architects nationwide elevated in February to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. And both of Portland's newest fellows...

Commentary: Not paying for new roads not an option.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Craig Honeyman As I get into my topic this month, a disclosure is in order: As the bio below this column indicates, I am the executive director of the largest commercial construction trade association in Oregon, and among my...

GSA picks Portland-based TVA work for 1 of 4 honor awards.
April 5, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The General Services Administration last week gave TVA Architects' design of Warehouse Seven, a Social Security Administration Teleservice Center in Auburn, Wash., one of four honor awards in its Design Awards program....

Portland Pacesetters: April 5, 2007.
April 5, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff CONSTRUCTION The Oregon-Columbia chapter of Associated General Contractors has named Robin Edgar labor relations manager. Edgar will coordinate negotiation of labor contracts and serve as a liaison among five...

Portlander Christine Ervin tapped as editor of green media company.
April 5, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Portlander Christine Ervin has been named editor-at-large of Greener World Media, which publishes GreenerBuildings.com and other online environmentally focused media. The former president and CEO of the U.S. Green...

Portland developer, designer doctor Milwaukie's facelift.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith There's no shortage of parking along Milwaukie's sleepy Main Street, and the most activity you'll see on an average weekday is a Dark Horse Comics employee trotting back and forth from one of the company's office...

North Portland High School kids get long look at building jobs.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Dan Carter Students from Roosevelt High School in North Portland on Wednesday got a first-hand look at jobs they could someday fill in the building industry at the school's Explore Careers in Construction event. Guidance counselors...

Ore. Occupational Safety and Health Division jolts standards for high-voltage work.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Libby Tucker The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division this month will consider amending its safety regulations to allow contractors to better work within restricted spaces near high-voltage power lines. In February,...

Housing not to blame for slowing Oregon economy.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Justin Stranzl Oregon's economic growth slowed in February for the third time in four months, but the housing market isn't to blame, according to a report issued Thursday by the University of Oregon. The university's Index of...

Commentary: Immigration law shouldn't be foreign concept.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Rich Meneghello Problem: Hardly a day goes by without a news report of the country's immigration "problem" and the latest proposed legislative "solution." You know that new immigration laws are in our future, you just don't know...

Portland Pacesetters: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff DESIGN SRG Partnership has hired Louise Foster, Bryan Higgins and Uwe Bergk and promoted Monte Ypma and Duncan Thieme. SRG's Kent Duffy has been awarded a fellowship. Duffy was awarded fellowship in the American Institute...

Portland-based Sustainable Northwest lands USDA grant.
April 6, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Sustainable Northwest has been awarded a $249,560 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote woody biomass use in Baker, Crook and Deschutes counties. Projects expected to benefit from the award include the...

Design advocates: Portland State University's rec center leaves something to be desired.
April 9, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan The north facade of Yost Grube Hall's design for Portland State University's rec center drew praise from members of the Portland Design Commission during a design advice session last week, but commissioners said plans...

Portland Construction Briefs: April 9, 2007.
April 9, 2007... Byline: alison ryan "On the boards" is a weekly roundup of Portland projects in the pipeline that will shed light on some of Oregon firms' best-but-below-the-radar design work. Submissions from Oregon and Southwest Washington architectural...

U.S. Green Building Council to talk green incentives at meeting in Portland.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Building owners and developers considering certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental rating system will have the opportunity to learn about incentive programs from 8:30 to...

Advisory panel to debate Vanport project options at special meeting in Portland.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff A special meeting of the Vanport Project Advisory Committee will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the King Neighborhood Facility's Community Court Room, 4815 N.E. Seventh Ave., in Portland. The committee will review a draft...

RiverEast developers discuss project at meeting of Portland chapter of Career Real Estate Women.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Portland chapter of Career Real Estate Women will play host to "From Steel Toe Boots to Wing Tips - The Story of the RiverEast Center" from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Thursday at the Multnomah Athletic Club, 1849 S.W....

Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard considers WWI memorial.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Commissioner Randy Leonard will play host to a discussion of a citizen proposal to establish a World War I memorial at one of the reservoirs at Mount Tabor Park from 3:30 to 5 p.m. April 16 at Portland City Hall, 1221...

Pacific Northwest consulting firm becomes GSI Water Solutions.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Groundwater Solutions Inc., a Pacific Northwest water resources and environmental consulting firm, has changed its name to GSI Water Solutions Inc. GSI Water Solutions provides water supply planning and development, water...

Commentary: Is this the year the consumer stops spending?
April 9, 2007... Byline: William Rutherford Since the market crash of 2000 and the rapid reduction of capital spending, the U.S. economy has depended on the consumer. The consumer has had to overcome war, higher oil prices, higher food prices and now a...

Portland Pacesetters: April 9, 2007.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff CONSTRUCTION The Oregon-Columbia chapter of Associated General Contractors has named Linda Scronce-Johnson head of the new AGC marketing and membership department. Scronce-Johnson will work with staff and members to...

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Building industry employment up 56,000 in March.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The construction industry accounted for about one out of three net new U.S. jobs in March, according to data released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry gained 56,000 jobs in March, according...

Architecture Foundation of Oregon unveils 2007 Dinner with an Architect events.
April 9, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Architecture Foundation of Oregon has announced this year's lineup for its Dinner with an Architect series. The event, which runs from April through August, includes festivities such as vodka tasting at the offices...

Leonard criticizes Portland Development Commission over RiverEast's negative appraisal.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith A former Southeast Portland warehouse near the Hawthorne Bridge that will open as an office building today could signify a turning point for the Central Eastside urban renewal area. But, Commissioner Randy Leonard...

Quest for efficient buildings brings group together in Portland.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan For Portland building energy modelers, assessing building performance prior to construction means inputting Oregon Energy Code information into a common energy use computer program every time. But what if the defaults...

Commentary: When is it time to fire a client?
April 10, 2007... Byline: Randy Tuminello Although I'm not the type to readily recommend the burning of a bridge, there are occasions when the only option is to get out the blowtorch. Though rare, there are some clients that should be fired. I reserve this...

Corvallis joins state of Wis. building permits Web site.
April 10, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The city of Corvallis last week joined a state Web site that allows contractors to apply and pay for building permits from 14 municipalities. Mechanical and electrical permits from the Corvallis Development Services...

Oregon Cultural Trust sets May 15 grant deadline.
April 10, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon Cultural Trust has set a May 15 deadline for fiscal year 2008 cultural development grant applications from Oregon's arts, heritage and humanities nonprofits. The grants go to support projects of cultural...

Barran Liebman associate named Multnomah Bar Assn.'s YLS president.
April 10, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Andrew Schpak, an associate with the law firm Barran Liebman, has been chosen to serve as president of the Multnomah Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section. He will serve a one-year term as president-elect starting this...

Commentary: Assessors can tee off on golf courses' worth.
April 10, 2007... Byline: David L. Canary It's the time of year that the azaleas bloom at the Masters. It's the time weather turns warm and you begin thinking about dusting off those golf clubs. It's the time the Wall Street Journal publishes a special...

Portland Pacesetters: April 10, 2007.
April 10, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff LAW The Multnomah Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section has elected Andrew Schpak of Barran Liebman, a boutique employment and labor law firm, president-elect. Schpak will serve a one-year term as president-elect...

Paulson lone port, S.W. Wash. rep on Climate Advisory Team.
April 10, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Washington governor Chris Gregoire has tapped the director of the Port of Vancouver to the state's Climate Advisory Team, making him the sole port representative and lone Southwest Washington resident on the panel. Larry...

Portland design firms: Visa cap thwarts some new hires.
April 11, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Perspective. Diversity. Different voices. The handful of foreign-born, non-citizen staff members Myhre Group Architects has adds a lot of interest to the company's culture. But there's also the bottom line - good...

Portland Construction Briefs: April 11, 2007.
April 11, 2007... Byline: Dan Carter Phase one of concrete restoration on the south side of the Marshall Wells Lofts in Portland's Pearl District is under way. Begun in November 2006, the project will be completed in two phases with phase one finishing up...

Portland Development Commission set to adopt wage, apprentice rules.
April 11, 2007... Byline: Justin Stranzl The Portland Development Commission today is expected to approve a long-planned construction wage policy that lays out rules for prevailing wage application and use of apprentices. Although agency commissioners on...

Commentary: With job losses, price hikes, time to save for stagflation.
April 11, 2007... Byline: Linda Stern Here's a multiple-choice question for savers and investors: What's a more frightening prospect now, inflation or recession? The answer, of course, is both. Accelerating prices and a slow- or no-growth economy is a...

Portland Pacesetters: April 11, 2007.
April 11, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff EDUCATION Christopher Klemm, who most recently served as the executive director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington, is the new director of Oregon State University's Austin...

Oregon Senate passes Renewable Energy Standard.
April 11, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon Senate on Tuesday passed a Renewable Energy Standard that would require the state to draw 25 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025. The bill would require Oregon's major utilities, like PGE and...

Rep. Blumenauer to hold global warming forum at Portland State University.
April 11, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will play host to a forum on global warning Wednesday at Portland State University. Blumenauer, who serves on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, will...

Port of Portland moves forward on $247M HQ at PDX.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith The Port of Portland on Wednesday voted unanimously to proceed with final design work on a new parking structure and port headquarters to be built at Portland International Airport that could cost as much $247...

Commentary: Measure 37 compromise is out there, but is it viable?
April 12, 2007... Byline: Ed Sullivan After weeks of discussions behind closed doors (though with much technical help), a special legislative committee released the broad outlines of a compromise designed to resolve the difficulties for land-use regulation...

Commentary: When does public money become private?
April 12, 2007... Byline: Tammy Bachofner The month of April marks the midpoint for Oregon's Legislature, and the political process in Salem couldn't be busier. The construction industry and business community as a whole have been working full time to...

Young real estate pros to gather in Portland for billiards.
April 12, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The Young Leaders Group of the Oregon and Southwest Washington chapter of the Urban Land Institute will hold its annual social from 4:30 to 7 p.m. April 24 at The Uptown Billiards Club, 120 N.W. 23rd Ave., in Portland....

Residential home designer to open new offices in Bend, Sherwood.
April 12, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Local residential home design firm Mark Stewart Home Design has opened a new office in Sherwood and will expand to Bend at the end of the month. The Sherwood office was designed by Stewart. It is located at 22582 S.W....

Home builders stack their cards in Salem.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Libby Tucker With an Oregon House committee this week debating a series of bills aimed at protecting consumers from shoddy construction work, construction industry associations are vying to shape the bills for their own benefits....

Slough flow freezing PDX deicing system at Portland International Airport.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith Portland International Airport is considering alternatives to its current deicing fluid runoff system, Susan Aha, a project manager for the Port of Portland, told the port's board of commissioners Wednesday. Whenever...

Commentary: Leonard can't undo RiverEast Center's good work.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Doug Blomgren When private citizens and public servants join together to turn a long-vacant hulk of concrete in Portland's Central Eastside into a new home for hundreds of well-paid jobs, most people in this city celebrate. But not...

Portland's GIF grants go to 6 green projects.
April 13, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The city of Portland and Energy Trust of Oregon on Thursday named six recipients of Green Investment Fund grants. Grants went to: * Kenton Living Building, which will generate 100 percent of its electricity onsite, use...

Oregon Democrats look to restrict condo conversions.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith It started when Ian Slingerland, executive director of renter advocate Community Alliance of Tenants, noticed an increase in the number of calls to the organization's hotline. The calls were about condo conversions,...

Dispute over wood may stop bill proposed by Oregon chapter of American Institute of Architects.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Architects' preference for one green building standard and the timber industry's preference for another will likely be the issue that keeps a bill proposed by the American Institute of Architects from becoming Oregon...

Portland Construction Briefs: April 16, 2007.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Mahlum Architects Mahlum Architects' Seattle office has designed the new Rosa Parks Elementary School in Redmond, Wash. The 65,000-square-foot school is made up of three wings - one for kindergarten through...

Oregon culinary school moves out of '40s into modern dining.
April 16, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Most of the existing buildings at Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria were built in the 1940s by the U.S. Navy. And military-built architecture, said Ron Airing, Tongue Point's director of finance and...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 16, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Portland plays game of biodiesel 'survivor', a Page 1 story in the April 5 DJC, incorrectly stated that McCall Oil spent millions to install a high-speed blending rack for biodiesel. The correct amount was about $100,000,...

Cuts to Oregon innovation budget may stymie sustainability plans.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan Cuts to a funding package proposed by the Oregon Innovation Council could squash a planned research center for clean energy, green building and green development, but proponents are confident that money will come - even...

Kulongoski hears Portland State Univ. students' facility gripes.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Monday came to Portland to stand on the dilapidated roof of Portland State University's Cramer Hall - one of many structures at PSU that is in disrepair. He visited Portland State to speak to a...

A look at some of the stories featured in the early 1990's issues of the DJC.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Theresa McKinlay This month we take a look at news from the early 1990s, specifically 1991 and 1992. April 2, 1991 "New Intel microchip facility breaks ground" "Intel Corp. broke ground Monday on a project that will double the...

Commentary: Don't let sun set on mobile park sales.
April 17, 2007... Byline: Abby Klinect Housing issues like rising prices and rental rates concern all Oregonians. But with most of that attention to housing focused on a "bubble" and if and when it might burst, many Oregonians are unaware that a deadline...

Oregon designer, professor, project take ASLA awards.
April 17, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff Two public projects by Portland landscape architects have earned awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, as have a University of Oregon professor and an Oregon project. Kevin Robert Perry, now of Nevue...

Port of Portland preps to develop 114 industrial acres.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Kennedy Smith On the heels of making plans to develop a new headquarters and parking structure at Portland International Airport, the Port of Portland is moving forward on developing a 573,000-square-foot industrial facility at...

Healing garden to give hope, health at Adventist Medical Center in Portland.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Dan Carter Patients in the behavioral health department at Adventist Medical Center have no secure, outdoor place to go while being cared for at the Southeast Portland hospital. That's about to change. The patients, usually in the...

Commentary: Push for financial aid is in full swing.
April 18, 2007... Byline: Linda Stern Financial aid season is in full swing, and parents of campus-bound students have only a few weeks left to line up their best deals or start finding alternative sources of cash for the fall. This year is more...

Portland firm will design rehab of Fire Station 1.
April 18, 2007... Byline: DJC Staff The city of Portland will award the design contract for the remodel of Fire Station 1 to Peck Smiley Ettlin Architects of Portland. The city's notice of intent to award contract, issued April 11, called Peck Smiley...

Green street policy in Portland could grow economy.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Alison Ryan A green street policy approved by Portland City Council on Wednesday made onsite stormwater control a permanent part of city streetscapes - and it could be a boost to the city economy. "There literally isn't a city in...