Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland articles from February 2004

Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland archives from February 2004

Georgia Pacific takes more space at Rivergate Corporate Center.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Services Inc., on behalf of client Georgia Pacific, has leased 150,000 square feet at Trammell Crow Co.'s Rivergate Corporate Center in Buildings A and B. The lease signals an expansion for Georgia Pacific. "We...

Portland contractor S.D. Deacon adds new division specializing in renovation.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey Portland contractor S.D. Deacon has formed a new division specializing in renovating and repairing commercial, public and residential buildings. The Deacon Repair and Restoration Division will tackle projects...

Oregon Dept. of Transportation seeks land-use exception for highway bypass in Yamhill County.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson A plan to build a highway bypass to relieve traffic congestion on a stretch of Oregon Highway 99W in Yamhill County must first gain an exception from county land-use goals for agricultural land. Oregon...

Portland's Lents Town Center redevelopment complete.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Portland Development Commission and Rose Community Development marked the completion of Lents Town Center last week. The project, which consists of four sites, brings a total of 36 units of affordable rental...

Veteran developer Hanson takes seat on Portland Planning Commission.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Veteran planner and developer Don Hanson had one word to describe his first meeting as one of the newest members of the Portland Planning Commission - relaxing. Hanson, a principal at Otak Inc. and manager of the...

Oregon contractors hammered by insurance rates.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey A rapid rise in construction defectlawsuits is costing Oregon contractors time, money and their insurance. As construction defect litigation increases, so does the cost of the liability insurance contractors must...

Bike parking compromise for downtown Portland nears approval.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl A compromise measure that will allow developers to buy out of a requirement to provide short-term and long-term bicycle parking for new construction in Portland's downtown is nearing final approval at City Hall. The...

Portland City Council nears approval of bike parking compromise.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff A compromise measure that will allow developers to buy out of a requirement to provide short-term and long-term bicycle parking for new construction in Portland's downtown is nearing final approval...

Rise in construction defect lawsuits causes increase in Oregon contractors' insurance rates.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey A rapid rise in construction defect lawsuits is costing Oregon contractors time, money and their insurance. As construction defect litigation increases, so does the cost of the liability insurance contractors must...

Hanson takes seat on Portland Planning Commission.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl SIDEBAR: Planning Commission members The nine-member Portland Planning Commission meets twice a month. Commissioners who can serve a maximum of three four-year terms are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the...

Chipotle opens its first NW restaurant in Lloyd District.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Chipotle, a casual Mexican food restaurant, will open its first Northwest location today in the Lloyd District. The Denver-based chain has 300 locations nationwide. The Portland store will be located at 701 N.E....

New Southeast Portland zoning would expand office, limit retail.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Work is under way to change the way a 30-acre portion of inner Southeast Portland is zoned to make room for more jobs while tightening restrictions on retail. The proposed zoning changes are part of a study that...

ODOT closes sinking portion of Sunset Highway.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey Until Monday, the Oregon Department of Transportation had hoped to keep open one of two lanes on westbound U.S. Highway 26 while culverts west of Dersham Road underwent emergency repairs. But a continued sinking of the...

Oregon State U's Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation focuses on infrastructure.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Research engineers at Oregon State University are knocking down the laboratory walls. Gaining speed in its first year, the Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation is supporting collaborations outside the...

Clackamas County Board of Commissioners to consider zoning change.
February 5, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote today on a zoning amendment that would shift 25 acres near the intersection of Oregon Highway 212 and Southeast 142nd Avenue from industrial to commercial...

Clackamas parks district seeks increase in system development charges.
February 5, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey A North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District plan to nearly double system development charges has earned praise from some of the builders who must foot the bill. System development charges - or SDCs - are...

Oregon Dept. of Forestry streamlines operations, retains history.
February 5, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson In the scorching summer heat of 2002, wildfires consumed hundreds of thousands of acres during one of Oregon's nastiest fire seasons. Meanwhile, at the state Department of Forestry headquarters in Salem, Alan Maul...

Portland engineering firm opens Idaho office.
February 6, 2004... Byline: Staff With an eye toward expanding its presence in the Idaho market, Kittelson & Associates Inc. has opened a new office in Boise. The office is the fifth location for the Portland-headquartered engineering firm, which also has...

Oregon Remodelers Association recognizes members for service.
February 6, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey The late Jim Griffith received the Oregon Remodelers Association's highest member honor when the organization presented its 2003 Member Recognition Awards during a recent year-end membership meeting and suppliers fair....

Portland-based Venerable Properties eyes old Fairview site in Salem.
February 6, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Venerable Properties, a Portland company known for rehabilitating historic structures, has entered into an initial agreement to purchase 25 acres of the former Fairview Training Center in Salem. The state sold the...

Thinking small digs up big success.
February 6, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson "Rookie of the Year" suits Portland-area small-space excavation contractor Mark Witherite. The Oregon Remodelers Association, whose new members numbered 70 this year, awarded him the title for introducing a niche to...

Conference center takes shape in Salem.
February 6, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey The $31.8 million Salem Conference Center is taking shape near the state capital's historic downtown area. Rushforth Construction Co. Inc. of Tacoma, Wash., the projects' general contractor, has completed the first 15...

Portland business community participates in Principals for a Day program.
February 9, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey Two members of the Portland building community were among the 117 civic and business leaders taking part in the Principals for a Day program Thursday, learning how Portland schools work from the inside. Alan Beard,...

Portland-based Western Culinary Institute makes a deal for more space at the Galleria.
February 9, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Just a few short months after Western Culinary Institute settled into its new home at the historic Galleria, the Portland-based school is looking to expand into more than 15,000 square feet of additional space. The...

Portland DOT seeks federal and state freight funds with master plan.
February 9, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Portland Department of Transportation wants its share of state and federal funds earmarked for freight. A freight master plan, just a few months away from presentation at City Council, will help Portland compete for...

Portland engineering firm to help create Fort to Sea Trail for Lewis & Clark bicentennial.
February 9, 2004... Byline: Rich Riegel The connection is personal for Ken Wightman, president of the Portland engineering firm David Evans and Associates. Wightman's company, along with other local engineering, surveying and landscape architect firms,...

Associated Builders and Contractors Pacific NW Chapter seeks bids on HQ improvements.
February 9, 2004... Byline: Staff The Associated Builders and Contractors Pacific Northwest Chapter is seeking contractor bids to expand and remodel its Tigard headquarters. The ABC plans to grow into an adjoining part of its leased building at 12256 SW...

Portland-based Norris, Beggs & Simpson names the company's Top Producers for 2003.
February 9, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Clayton Hering, president of Norris, Beggs & Simpson, recently named the company's Top Producers for 2003. The designation is determined by the total dollar volume of lease transactions during the calendar year. ...

Portland's aerial tram budget set at $22 million.
February 11, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Design team leader Sarah Graham returned to Portland Tuesday to present revised design schematics and a retooled budget for an aerial tram that will fly passengers from Oregon Health & Science University to the South...

Portland firm finds niche recycling foam plastics.
February 11, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey John Gogol likens his business to a microbrewery. Instead of lagers and ales, he brews plastics. Through his company, PC Plastics, Gogol processes and recycles polystyrene plastics and foam blocks into more plastic,...

States and counties tally costs, seek federal help for storms.
February 11, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson While many were marooned in their living rooms during last month's snow and ice storms, state and local maintenance and emergency crews were working around the clock in the Willamette Valley and Southwestern...

Portland's Women's Shipping Club educates members about shipping and warehousing industry.
February 12, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Times have changed since 1958, but the mission of the Portland Women's Shipping Club has not. It is to educate members about the shipping and warehousing industry through speakers, field trips, networking and...

Portland-based Fred Meyer's Interstate store work progresses.
February 12, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey Bulldozers and backhoes are tearing down the main building of the Fred Meyer Interstate Avenue store. The 50-year-old building at North Interstate Avenue and Lombard Street must come down to make way for a new $19...

Portland-based Harsch Investment buys first Orange County property.
February 12, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Portland-based Harsch Investment Properties recently purchased the Von Karman Plaza, a 279,120-square-foot shopping center in Irvine, Calif., from M&H Realty Partners for $35 million. The deal is Harsch's first in...

Portland Bureau of Parks & Recreation's outsourcing saves money, worries union.
February 13, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson The Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation will begin an 18-month pilot program with Genuine Parts Co., better known as NAPA Auto Parts, to contract out warehouse services in March. The company has promised...

Portland Development Commission sees Grant Warehouse as catalytic opportunity for northeast area.
February 13, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Portland Development Commission hopes future redevelopment of Grant Warehouse on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will help spur investment in an area that has seen continual decline. "If you drive up...

Oregon Building Congress, DJC join forces to help construction's next generation.
February 13, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey The Oregon Building Congress and the Daily Journal of Commerce are teaming up to publish Building Futures, a magazine designed to attract high school and college students to construction and trade careers. The DJC...

David Squire named broker of the year by Portland's Building Owners and Managers Assn.
February 18, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl David Squire, who quips that what he knows about real estate could "fit inside a thimble," prefers to wax philosophical about his work rather than talk about his success. "People focus so much on what people do," he...

Portland Bureau of Environmental Services to unveil Hollywood sewer placement options.
February 18, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services will hold an open house Thursday to present options for impending sewer reconstruction in Portland's Hollywood District. More than 2.5 miles of sewer will go in the...

Kent, Wash.-based Second Long Painting employee falls from St. Johns Bridge.
February 18, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson John Woods, 49, a supervisor from Long Painting Co. of Kent, Wash., fell from the St. Johns Bridge early Tuesday morning. He was inspecting work from the night shift before the morning shift came on, said Dave...

Engineering and design firms compete in annual Canstruction contest to benefit Oregon Food Bank.
February 18, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey LRS Architects Inc. and the engineering firm Nishkian Dean often team their talents to tackle big construction projects. The two firms most recently worked together building Uptown Village, a $10.4 million, mixed-used,...

Portland office of J.E. Dunn takes lead in Oregon federal courthouse projects.
February 19, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey The Portland office of J.E. Dunn Construction is starting two Oregon federal courthouse projects, one in Eugene and the other in Portland. Dunn will build the $70 million Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse...

East-side Ronald McDonald House Charities to add rooms.
February 19, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson The new year holds much promise for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington. Light the House, the organization's annual display of holiday lights at Unico's U.S. Bancorp Tower, took in...

I-405 crash victim had ties to Portland construction industry.
February 19, 2004... Byline: Rich Riegel For those who knew and worked with him, George Kelly was an enthusiastic guy who was well-known and well-liked in the local construction community. Kelly, 65, was one of two people killed earlier this month in a...

Portland City Council delays vote on urban renewal extension.
February 20, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl After nearly two-and-a-half-hours of discussion and public testimony, the Portland City Council put off a vote on extending the life of the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area until next week. Postponing the vote...

Oregon chefs and farmers connect in sustainable agriculture project.
February 20, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson With a flood of dollars being funneled into commodity movement in Oregon and beyond, many farmers are poised to capitalize on the swifter movement of their goods around the country and the world. But some Oregon and...

EuroBest takes 77,000 square feet in Wilsonville.
February 20, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl EuroBest Food Industries Inc. has leased 77,000 square feet at the Wilsonville Distribution Center. The deal makes the center more than 60 percent occupied. Located at 29899 S.W. Boones Ferry Road, the distribution...

Four Pacific Northwest remodelers selected as finalists for Contractor of the Year Awards.
February 20, 2004... Byline: Ray Hughey Four Pacific Northwest remodeling firms are among the finalists in the National Association of the Remodeling Industry's 2004 Contractor of the Year Awards competition. The northwest finalists are Neil Kelly...

School employee, contractor plead guilty in federal court to violation of Clean Air Act.
February 20, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Two men responsible for carpet installation at an Ashland School District elementary school have pleaded guilty in federal court to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act for their involvement in the illegal...

Clackamas Town Center mall to expand.
February 23, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Clackamas Town Center is the latest regional mall planning an expansion and an update as a way to stay current and competitive with the next generation of shoppers. The mall's owner, Chicago-based General Growth...

Seattle-based architecture and planning firm, Mithun, wins multifamily industry recognition.
February 23, 2004... Byline: Staff Mithun, a Seattle-based architecture and planning firm, has been named a finalist in the National Association of Home Builders' 2004 Pillars of the Industry Awards. Mithun was named a finalist in three categories in the...

Hearthstone Housing Foundation building its first Oregon project in Bend.
February 23, 2004... Byline: Staff The Hearthstone Housing Foundation is building its first Oregon low-income senior housing project in Bend. The nonprofit developer of affordable housing is based in Newport Beach, Calif., and operates 15 housing projects...

Portland developer Tom Kemper chosen for North Interstate project.
February 23, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Portland developer Tom Kemper has been selected to create Killingsworth Station, a mixed-use project proposed for the northeast corner of Killingsworth Street and Interstate Avenue. The Portland Development...

Trade schools continue to grow, seek more space.
February 24, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl A struggling economy may mean a slow commercial real estate market, but it also means workers are looking for more training in order to find new jobs. This trend has prompted a wave of leases and expansions for area...

Ride programs await $8.8M in grants from Oregon Dept. of Transportation.
February 24, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Ride programs that connect elderly, disabled and rural travelers to their destinations around Oregon are waiting on $8.8 million in grants from the Oregon Department of Transportation's Public Transit Division to...

Portland-based Zidell Marine Corp. continues barge building, mulls redevelopment.
February 25, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Amidst the excavation and excitement of vacant lots poised to give way to a new urban neighborhood along the western banks of the Willamette River, Zidell Marine Corp. continues to go about the business of building...

High-tech methods used to map river bottom.
February 25, 2004... Byline: Rich Riegel Bathymetry. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines bathymetry as the "measurement of the depth of large bodies of water." The root is the Greek word "bathus," meaning deep. The word...

Portland Development Commission and the city to study property tax abatements.
February 26, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl Over the next two weeks, the Portland Development Commission and the city will discuss possible changes to property tax abatements granted for multiple-unit housing projects. Commissioner Randy Leonard said during a...

Public comment on freight plan mirrors Portland's hotspots list.
February 26, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Comments received from a public meeting held earlier this month on a proposed Portland freight master plan identify a number of themes and hotspots around the city's freight-heavy zones. Most comments submitted by...

Portland-area students learn engineering principles from ZOOM program.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Some things only a child could explain. For example, what exactly is a flinker? Hundreds of Portland-area students in the know would say it's something that doesn't float and doesn't sink but just "flinks" in...

Oregon Health & Science Univ.'s biomedical engineering program only one in state.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson While Oregon legislators have pushed for a larger number of engineering graduates and postgraduates from the state's universities, the educational pipeline for one particular branch - biomedical engineering - ended...

Seattle-based Recreational Equipment Inc. opens Pearl District store today.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Pearl District REI will open today on the bottom two floors of The Edge, a glass-enclosed, 11-story loft building that towers just east of Interstate 405 between Northwest Johnson and Kearney streets. ...

Oregon universities balance quality with quantity in engineering programs.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Staff Halfway through Oregon University System's 10-year initiative to double the number of students graduating with bachelor's degrees in engineering and computer science, planners know the system will not hit the mark by 2009....

Oregon's community colleges join forces to link students to engineering opportunities.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Staff While four-year institutions are striving to get more engineering graduates out the door and into the work force, Oregon's community colleges are teaming up with high schools, the state Department of Education and each other...

International science fair comes to Portland.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is coming to Portland this year and bringing with it 1,200 students from 40 countries, 1,000 judges and 3,000 out-of-town visitors. This will be the first time the...

NASA and Christopher Newport Univ. co-sponsor Vinny Awards to interest kids in science and math.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Aimee Curl What do you get when you ask kindergarten-through-12th-grade students to show how math and science can be used to solve a global problem in less than one minute? The Vinny awards, of course. The Vinny awards are...

Engineering scholarship offers money, internships.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson The high-tech professional organization AeA is developing new engineers $10,000 at a time. Formerly the American Electronics Association Oregon Council, AeA is partnering for the fifth year with tech giants such...

Oregon Institute of Technology Tech Challenge offers opportunities for Southern Oregon students.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Jessica Swanson Junior high and high school students will strut their tech know-how March 11 at the Oregon Institute of Technology Tech Challenge, a new competition in Klamath Falls. The competition is one of six regional...

Saturday Academy opens doors to kids' exploration of science, arts.
February 27, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Basalyga Weekdays are for work; weekends are for relaxing. At least that's how most adults view a seven-day week. But for more than 3,000 students in the Portland metro area - and 1,500 more in Corvallis - weekends...