Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland articles from June 2005

Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland archives from June 2005

Lifestyle centers in Portland fuel strong retail market.
June 1, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith While area lifestyle retail centers thrive, several submarkets will have to find new ways to compete for retailers seeking a Portland presence, according to a new report by Marcus and Millichap Real Estate Brokerage...

Portland real estate development conference hosts local leaders.
June 1, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith A real estate development and finance conference will be held June 2 and 3 at Building Two of the World Trade Center in downtown Portland. Sponsored by the Seminar Group, the event is geared toward attorneys,...

Two firms selected in joint venture for design & construction of Walla Walla prison project.
June 1, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough HDR and Turner Construction Co., in a joint venture, were recently selected to provide design and construction services on a $100 million integrated single-source design-build project for the Washington State...

Wash.-based Longview Fibre reports gains in second quarter.
June 1, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Longview Fibre Co., a timberlands manager and specialty paper goods manufacturer based in Longview, Wash., reported a net income of $8.8 million, or 17 cents per share, for its fiscal quarter, which ended April 30....

ODOT gets options for public/private partnership projects.
June 2, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough The Oregon Department of Transportation's Office of Innovative Partnerships is now further poised to move forward with its new public/private partnership program for certain high-cost transportation projects as the...

To forge own identity, Phoenix suburb looks to Portland design firm for aid.
June 2, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Mesa, Ariz., with a booming population of almost 450,000 people, rates as one of the fifty largest cities in the United States. But because it's added big-box retailers and strip malls almost as rapidly as it's added...

Congressman David Wu pushes for nanotechnology funding.
June 2, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Congressman David Wu is attempting to secure $1.5 million for the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute to develop affordable electron microscopes in partnership with FEI Co. of Hillsboro and Ohio State...

Summer programs help turn students into lawyers.
June 3, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith For many college students, summer is a time to forget about their studies for a few weeks, catch some rays, maybe backpack through Europe. For some, however, what they do this summer could determine their...

Public participation on Portland Development Commission agenda next week.
June 3, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Public participation will be the focus of two Portland Development Commission meetings next week, when Commissioners will consider a proposed Public Presentation Policy and "Best Practices" manual and the PDC Board...

Lake Oswego-based Otak awarded for support of military employees.
June 3, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Representatives from a Department of Defense volunteer organization that helps to support employers with employees in the National Guard recognized Otak Inc. at the firm's Lake Oswego headquarters on Thursday...

9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules some commissioned employees exempt from overtime.
June 3, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of several area auto dealers by reversing lower court decisions to pay overtime to finance employees who are paid on commission. Davis Wright Tremaine...

Sustainability forum: How is Oregon doing?
June 3, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The term "sustainability" and its myriad meanings was the topic of a speech by John Mitchell, economist with U.S. Bancorp, at the 2005 Sustainable Industries Economic Forum June 1 in Portland. "It is a word you...

Sarbanes-Oxley complex, burdensome to companies.
June 3, 2005... Byline: Jerry Shottenkirk (This article originally ran in The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK, another Dolan Media publication). Few acts of Congress lately have had the business and financial community scrambling as much as the...

Supreme Court reverses Arthur Andersen decision.
June 3, 2005... Byline: Jerry Shottenkirk (This article originally ran in The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK, another Dolan Media publication). The U.S. Supreme Court indicated on Tuesday the reason it overturned the original Arthur Andersen...

Land owners all over the nation donate for easements, tax breaks.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Last month, Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Co. announced plans for a major development project involving more than 420,000 acres of land in the Moosehead Lake Region of western Maine. What has surprised many,...

Developer of Portland's Benson Tower killed in plane crash in Canada.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Eric van Doorninck, developer of the Benson Tower now under construction in downtown Portland, died May 29 in a plane crash in Vancouver, Canada. Van Doorninck, 47, was killed when a small plane he was piloting...

Univ. of Oregon, Portland State Univ. architecture students share 'First Thursday' stage.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl With the end of the school year just days away, Portland State University and University of Oregon architecture students on Thursday took their work out of the classroom and into an arena where it would be judged not...

Portland-based Joseph Hughes Construction begins renovating Blazers Boys & Girls Club.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough A major renovation project for the Blazers Boys & Girls Club, at 5250 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., was kicked off last week by the Portland based-general contractor for the project, Joseph Hughes Construction....

Portland-based George Morlan Plumbing to award scholarships during singing contest.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough A few talented area high school students will be able to get a financial boost toward their college tuition thanks to George Morlan Plumbing and a new Singing in the Shower contest. The locally owned plumbing...

Oregon economy catching up to United States.
June 7, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Oregon's economy is steady and strengthening, according to the latest University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators, released June 2. The analysis, which covers economic activity through April, showed...

Beaverton-based Tektronix lends support to OSU engineering program.
June 7, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Beaverton-based Tektronix Inc., a test, measurement, and monitoring company that provides measurement solutions to the communications, computer and semiconductor industries, recently announced that it has extended...

Businesses are eyeing Web site suffixes to match their trade.
June 7, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith In the next few months, Travel Oregon, the brand of the Oregon Tourism Commission, will unveil a revamped, interactive Web site that will attempt to draw more travelers away from national booking sites like...

Brantley steps down as director of Oregon Economic and Community Development Dept.
June 7, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff After more than two years, Marty Brantley is stepping down as director of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department effective July 1. In his letter of resignation, he told the governor he will return...

Cement shortage again impacts construction in Pacific Northwest.
June 8, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl A cement shortage that last year impacted construction across the United States has in 2005 again reached the Pacific Northwest, impacting the region even earlier this time. The shortage this year, according to...

Project to modernize section of N.W. 13th Ave. in downtown Portland.
June 8, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Marked by potholes, gravel and railroad tracks, a stretch of Northwest 13th Avenue between Johnson and Raleigh streets in downtown Portland will soon be transformed into a more modern thoroughfare. The...

Wells Development Co. plans Tualatin corporate center.
June 8, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Wells Development Co. is formulating plans to acquire six acres of industrial land in Tualatin from the Itel Family Trust. The project, dubbed Itel Corporate Center, will include up to 100,000 square feet in one...

105 electricians graduate from training program in Portland.
June 8, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough The Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 recently announced the graduation of 105 apprentices from the NECA-IBEW...

Pacific University expands to Hillsboro.
June 8, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Pacific University is moving forward with plans to build a 225,000-square-foot Health Professions Campus at a half-acre site in Hillsboro, to be constructed in two phases during the next five years. The land is...

House approves funds for Portland-area environmental Corps projects.
June 9, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough In a move that bodes well for several area projects, the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a legislation package that will provide funding for several environmental projects in the Portland area,...

Downtown Portland apartments sold, condo conversion eyed.
June 9, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Equity Apartments has sold the three-tower Portland Center Apartments complex at 200 S.W. Harrington St. in downtown Portland. Although the details have not been released, the buyer is a local developer with an...

Nonprofits receive economic opportunity grants from Portland Bureau of Housing.
June 9, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Ten nonprofit organizations will receive grants ranging from $20,000 to $178,000 from the Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development's Economic Opportunity Initiative, a program aimed at increasing the...

Portland-based Works Partnership Architecture is what 'works' for the design firm.
June 10, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl It's easy to make the mistaken assumption that Works Partnership Architecture is developer Brad Malsin's personal design firm. Malsin makes the mistake himself. Since forming in February, the three-person Works...

Portland-based Beam Construction says 'nothing's certain' about Bridgehead joint effort.
June 10, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Beam Construction & Management will indeed team with the Minneapolis development firm Opus Northwest and former Opus employee Bruce Wood for the redevelopment of five blocks at the east end of the Burnside Bridge,...

Road projects to improve travel in Washington County.
June 10, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough With the first day of summer a little less than two weeks away, new road construction projects are beginning to pop up all over the state, especially in Washington County where a variety of major projects are now...

Portland Real Estate Briefs: June 10, 2005.
June 10, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Marcus & Millchap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. recently added to its listings the Greenhouse Square, a 74,112-square-foot shopping community in Clackamas. The asking sale price is $10.75 million, or $145 per...

Port of Portland to explore airport runway extension.
June 10, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough The Port of Portland announced this week that it has taken a significant step toward reducing costs, construction timelines and aircraft noise impacts associated with runway and taxiway maintenance, repairs and...

Washington law protects employers from certain disclosures.
June 10, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Under a new law signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire, employers in Washington will have more protection from lawsuits when they disclose information about a current or former employee to a prospective employer or agency....

Four candidates recommended to head Portland Development Commission.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Three locals and an individual from Arizona have been recommended to the Portland Development Commission for the position of executive director. The consensus came after three days of application review,...

Portland State University student Michael Rudis has two impending NASA internships.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Houston, we have liftoff. Again. Almost a year ago, in July 2004, Michael Rudis, majoring in architecture as a Portland State University student, was 24,000 feet over Texas, riding inside a Boeing KC-135A plane under...

Portland's East Side Big Pipe sewer project debate resolved.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough It's over, but it didn't come quickly. After nearly four-and-a-half hours of sometimes fierce debate on Thursday, City Council voted 4 to 1 to deny the appeal from the joint venture Impregilo/Healy/Obayashi...

Historic Landmarks Commission of Portland to hear Meier & Frank Building plans.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Representatives of the Portland Development Commission, the Bureau of Planning and SERA Architects will address the Historic Landmarks Commission today outlining their plan to renovate and revitalize downtown's Meier...

2005 Regional Erosion Prevention Awards held in Wilsonville.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl They're not always awarded for going above and beyond the call of duty. Some of them are hailed "just for doing their job." The 36 winners of the 2005 Regional Erosion Prevention Awards, dispensed Friday in...

Multnomah County banks lead SBA loan approvals.
June 14, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Multnomah County banks have approved more Small Business Administration loans than any other county in the region, with 193 loans totaling more than $38.8 million as of May 31. So far in Fiscal Year 2005, banks in...

Legislation would keep banks out of real estate business.
June 14, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith For the fourth year in a row, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has backed legislation to permanently prevent banking conglomerates from entering the real estate brokerage and property management...

Final recommendations for I-5 Delta Park project made to OR Dept. of Transportation.
June 15, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough The Delta Park Citizen Advisory Committee and Environmental Justice Working Groups for the Interstate 5 widening project between North Victory Boulevard and North Lombard Street have made their final recommendations...

Heritage Center exhibits celebrate forgotten artifacts of Portland's architectural history.
June 15, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl The Bosco-Milligan Foundation can't rebuild the Oriental Theatre or the Jacobs-Dolph Mansion. But with a new exhibit at the Architectural Heritage Center, the preservation unit's executive director believes she's...

Renovation of Portland's World Forestry Center is complete.
June 15, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough After an extensive $7.5 million exhibit and building renovation, the World Forestry Center is ready to open its doors to a brand-new Discovery Museum, located in Portland's Washington Park, on June 30. The...

Helicopter lifts away abandoned water pipe from southeast Portland canyon restoration project.
June 15, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff As part of a canyon restoration project, a helicopter was used to remove an abandoned 150-foot pipe near the campus of Reed College in southeast Portland last week. At the request of Reed College, the Portland Water...

Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 16-home community in Portland neighborhood.
June 15, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Habitat for Humanity will break ground today on a new 16-home community in Portland's Lents neighborhood. The project site is at 8327 S.E. Lambert St., north of Johnson Creek Boulevard and included in the Lents Urban...

Portland's greenway requirements could derail Waterfront Pearl.
June 16, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl The fate of a developer's plan to reshape Portland's Pearl District along the west bank of the Willamette River could be determined today, when the city's Design Commission will decide if a redrawn, two-tower...

Senate subcommittee approves $15M for Columbia River Channel deepening.
June 16, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough A U.S. Senate subcommittee has approved $15 million for FY2006 for the Columbia River Channel Improvement Project to deepen the navigational channel from 40 feet to 43 feet. The $15-million appropriation matches...

Oregon State engineering team moves into semi-finals.
June 16, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough A team made up of Oregon State University engineering students, faculty and local engineers has been named one of 40 semi-finalist teams in a competition vying for a $2-million prize offered by the U.S. Department...

CB Richard Ellis Group forms new company, named most recognized real estate firm.
June 16, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and its subsidiary L.J. Melody & Co. have formed a finance company that specializes in originating, acquiring, investing in, financing and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial...

Law recruitment company names top Oregon law firms, lawyers.
June 17, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The top-quality law firms in Oregon are Stoel Rives; Barran Liebman; Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf; and Ball Janik, according to Chambers and Partners, a legal recruitment and publishing company, which has...

New Portland law firm specializes in intellectual property.
June 17, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Alleman Hall McCoy Russell & Tuttle LLP has opened its headquarters at the Jackson Tower at Pioneer Square in Portland. The firm specializes in developing and implementing intellectual property strategies. Our...

Oregon Court of Appeals reworks departmental judges.
June 17, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The Oregon Court of Appeals will change the composition of its departments effective July 1. In Department One, Rick T. Haselton will serve as presiding judge. He has been an Oregon Appeals Court judge since 1994....

Oregon State to host U.N. nuclear conference.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Oregon State University's nuclear engineering department has scored what the university considers a major coup, landing the right to host a week-long United Nations conference on nuclear energy technologies that...

Washington Condo Act amendments aim to reduce water damage litigation.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith New amendments to the Washington Condominium Act outline specific rules for weatherproofing and may lead to lower insurance premiums for builders and developers, the Washington State Legislature hopes. The...

Washington public works project wins top Amer. of Public Works Assn. award.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Pierce County Public Works, BERGER/ABAM Engineers Inc., and Quigg Brothers Inc. were all recently awarded the 2005 Public Works Project of the Year award by the American Public Works Association for their collective...

Survey: Lack of trained bioscience workers in Oregon.
June 21, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Oregon has a shortage of trained bioscience professionals, and many bioscience firms recruit out-of-state individuals when seeking employees, according to the Oregon Bioscience Workforce Needs Survey, conducted by the...

$100K worth of grants awarded to Oregon City projects.
June 21, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Nearly $100,000 worth of grants were awarded to nine neighborhood improvement projects that will benefit local residents, nonprofit organizations, senior centers and schools in Oregon City last week by the Oregon...

Thieves steal $25K worth of equipment in Tigard.
June 21, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Sometime during Thursday night or Friday morning last week, $25,000 worth of equipment was stolen from a job site at the new Alberta Rider Elementary School, located at 14850 S.W. 132nd Ave., in Tigard. Among...

Knowledge Learning Corp. expands in Portland.
June 21, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith In the largest office lease transaction in Portland this year, the Knowledge Learning Corp. has signed a 10-year lease expansion and renewal that encompasses roughly 80,000 square feet in the Lloyd District's Liberty...

Recent additions to SERA Architects' team of principals want to lead company in new directions.
June 22, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Two new principals. Two new focuses. SERA Architects' Joseph Pinzone and Tim Smith aren't new to the design firm - Pinzone's been with SERA since 1996, and Smith came on board in 1999 - but the two men are the...

Lake Oswego-based Otak Inc. lands surveying contract for John Ross condo project.
June 22, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough Lake Oswego-based Otak Inc. announced this week that the firm will provide its services for another project in the quickly developing South Waterfront district. The firm, which has provided core engineering...

U.S. Senate bill would grant $300K for Portland State University solar research.
June 22, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl A bill headed to the U.S. Senate floor would grant $300,000 to solar energy research at Portland State University if passed. The Senate Appropriations Committee, which includes Oregon Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron...

Pacific Office Automation to build new headquarters at Portland's Cornell Oaks Corporate Center.
June 22, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough After years in the same location, Pacific Office Automation will soon have a roomier place to call home as construction of the company's new corporate headquarters, which will be located on 8.17 acres of land within...

Portland's Green Building Services heads out on its own.
June 23, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl After more than five years operating within what it considers one of the most unlikely of incubators, Green Building Services is headed out on its own. On Sept. 1, the adviser on sustainable projects in Portland...

Oregon Health & Science University still on top after Top Projects 2005.
June 23, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl The Daily Journal of Commerce's Top Project award climbed down from Marquam Hill Tuesday, but it didn't leave Oregon Health & Science University. Building One, a $103.5 million, 400,000-square-foot project that...

New Colliers director discovered real estate calling.
June 23, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Thomas Lawwill has lived in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles, spending time "in the building materials industry, working for United Airlines, running a regional organization in Atlanta," and a host of other...

OfficeSpace.com upgrades brand, infrastructure for user friendliness.
June 23, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith When John Suryan, president of OfficeSpace.com, first thought of launching an online portal for commercial real estate professionals, a 56K Internet connection was considered lightning speed, RealAudio technology was...

Portland 'green' paint lines continue to boom.
June 24, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough With green building practices continuing to become more and more common in the Portland area and throughout the Pacific Northwest, locally-based paint manufacturers are learning it pays to be "green." Over the...

Commercial condo space popping up around Portland.
June 24, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Madison Place is being billed as one of Portland's premier "office condominium" projects. Targeted toward small businesses, office condos are smaller units for purchase by those who are tired of paying rent on their...

Portland-based Zidell Marine Corp. picks up contract for double-hulled tank barge.
June 24, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough The Zidell Marine Corp., one of the only industrial businesses still operating in the quickly redeveloping South Waterfront area, announced earlier this month that it has received an order to build the largest...

Mt. Hood Community College plans green-building consulting course.
June 24, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Mt. Hood Community College will offer aspiring green-building consultants a training program this fall to help them better advise employers or clients on sustainable building strategies. The Sustainable Building...

Multnomah County Circuit Court to require arbitrator training.
June 24, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The 600-plus arbitrators for Multnomah County's Circuit Court will soon be responsible for ongoing training if they wish to remain on the arbitrator list. The Court recently enacted the Arbitration Commission...

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finally approves dam project near Portland.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Almost a year after negotiating what all parties considered a "historic" agreement, conservationists and license holders for the Pelton Round Butte project can finally breathe easier, now that the Federal Energy...

'ConnectOregon-style' project opens in Rainier.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Cody McCullough A day after the Oregon Senate voted unanimously to pass Gov. Ted Kulongoski's multimodal transportation initiative dubbed ConnectOregon, about 100 people gathered underneath a temporary tent in Rainier to celebrate...

Oregon's job growth among the fastest in U.S.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Oregon employers added 52,700 jobs during the past year at a growth rate of 3.3 percent, ranking among the fastest in the United States, according to the Oregon Employment Department's latest Labor Trends report. ...

Dwell magazine founder hammers modernism's 'style,' lauds its 'spirit' during speech in Portland.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl Throughout a free-wheeling presentation, the founder of Dwell magazine and current Metropolis architectural columnist had as many questions Thursday for her IIDA audience as answers. Speaking for more than an...

Kalama, WA-based Steelscape expands facilities at Port of Kalama.
June 27, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff A new 37,510-square-foot building has been developed for Steelscape Inc., a company that produces metallic-coated and pre-painted steel coils for the construction industry, at the Port of Kalama, according to port...

Vancouver church growing with community.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Dan Carter Twenty years ago, St. John's Catholic Church in Vancouver, Wash., started an outreach program in the Hispanic community. One of the main features of the program was the addition of a Spanish language mass to the four...

Central Oregon contractor joins 'First Friday' fun.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Justin Stranzl On Friday, galleries throughout downtown Bend and the city's Old Mill District will exhibit art as part of Central Oregon's "First Friday" festivities. So too will a regional construction firm. The Central...

Court case puts spotlight on Oregon property rights.
June 28, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith In a 5-4 decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that local governments have the right to raze privately held land for public/private-use developments that have been deemed economically beneficial to the...