Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland articles from March 2008

Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland archives from March 2008

Portland's road fee may be swept away.
March 3, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Finding the money to fix Portland's roads is shaping up to be one of the biggest issues in local campaigns this year. With the city's looming $422 million road maintenance backlog, potholes have come to symbolize a...

A (green) rose grows in Guadalajara.
March 3, 2008... Byline: Nathalie Weinstein Like Washington Park locally, Bosque Colomos in Portland's sister city Guadalajara, Jalisco, is a natural preserve within a city. The two cities also share a nickname, 'The City of Roses,' as well as a signature...

Portland street fee goes from fast-forward to neutral.
March 3, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Just when the city's street maintenance and safety fee threatened to kick into third gear, it stalled. At a City Council meeting in early February, city commissioners unanimously voted to push back until the summer...

Redmond seeks $110M for new schools.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report The Redmond School Board will ask voters in May to approve a $110 million bond measure to help build two new schools and catch up up on delayed maintenance at already-existing schools. About $80 million of the...

Portland Water Bureau joins water utility alliance.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A group of water utilities from across the nation, including the Portland Water Bureau, have formed the Water Utility Climate Alliance. The alliance will assist in adapting policies, programs and systems to...

Attorney picked to chair Columbia River Economic Development Council.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A principal in the law firm of Stoel Rives has been elected chairman of the Columbia River Economic Development Council. Attorney Tim McMahan has been a CREDC board member since 2005. In his new role as...

Wells Fargo promotes Goode to regional manager for Oregon and SW Washington.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Wells Fargo has promoted Dave Goode to regional private banking manager for Oregon and Southwest Washington. Goode previously served for 12 years as a commercial-banking senior relationship manager in Portland....

Davis Wright Tremaine in Portland hires Schnell.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Davis Wright Tremaine has hired Garry Schnell as an associate in its business transactions practice group. Schnell previously worked at Kell Alterman & Runstein LLP, where he specialized in business and...

Oregon-based Funk/Levis & Associates hires three.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Funk/Levis & Associates has hired Susan Bennett as an administrative assistant, Sherisa Aguirre as an account manager and Jason Nowlin as an account planner. Bennett previously worked in human resources and...

Bradshaw Advertising in Portland hires Pulliam.
March 3, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Bradshaw Advertising has hired Stan Pulliam as an account executive. Pulliam previously worked for seven years on several political races in Kentucky, Montana and Oregon.

Portland Development Commission sails past minority 2007 contracting goals.
March 4, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The Portland Development Commission last year boosted the dollar amount of contracts going to minority, women-owned and emerging small businesses by 82 percent, according to a report the agency released last week. ...

Federal Reserve grooves with Portland-based Jive Software.
March 4, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf When the former Federal Reserve Building was operational, nobody mistook its vaguely militaristic appearance for a home to warm-and-fuzzy offices. That was the point. It was a fortress, protecting money. But the...

Food distributor leases Portal Way space in Portland.
March 4, 2008... Byline: DJC staff A Colorado food distribution company has signed a long-term lease for 102,988 square feet of industrial space at LogistiCourt on Northeast Portal Way in Portland. Vistar Corp., which operates Vistar Specialty Markets...

Vancouver Port meeting considers option agreement.
March 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Commissioners for the Port of Vancouver will gather for a special meeting this morning at 8:30 a.m. The only topic for the meeting will be whether commissioners should approve an option agreement with Sutherland...

Weyerhaeuser closes doors on Junction City plant.
March 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Weak demand spurred by the downturn in the residential housing market has convinced Weyerhaeuser Co. to permanently shut down its veneer products facility in Junction City. The closure is expected to take effect...

Idaho economist offers state economy update.
March 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff State economist Tom Potiowsky will offer his view of the future of Oregon's economy, and the impact upcoming trends might have on businesses in Washington County, during an upcoming breakfast meeting of the Westside...

Commentary: Succession planning creates business continuum.
March 4, 2008... Byline: Robert Niklos Many small business owners are focused on future customers and future growth, but seldom consider an ownership plan or the future of the business in an orderly succession. Just two years ago, according to a Grant...

Hennebery Eddy Architects in Portland promotes two, hires two.
March 4, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Hennebery Eddy Architects has promoted David Byrne and Deborah Rogers to associate. In addition, the firm has hired Amie Anderson as a interior designer and historic preservationist and Jimmy Gantz as a project architect....

Portland developer finally finishes Vanport Square project.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf In 1972, Ray Leary was co-captain of Jefferson High School's state championship basketball team. Thirty years later, his trajectory from sports superstar to Portland-area developer tracks like the arc of a perimeter jump...

Federal stimulus package offers breaks to businesses.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The same federal economic stimulus package that will send individual taxpayers $300 this year offers tax breaks to businesses that buy property, including buildings and equipment, in 2008. State and federal tax...

Architect selected for retail center in Redmond.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff BBT Architects has won the rights to design a new retail center in Redmond. The Virginia Retail Center, located in the north part of the Central Oregon city, will be made up of several buildings...

Australian planner headlines Portland event.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff Peter Newman, the Australian planner who invented the term 'automobile dependence,' makes a special local appearance Thursday as the guest speaker for a Metro brown bag lunch. Newman has gained a...

Vancouver's Nutter Corp. to manage Dozer Day fundraiser.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff Nutter Corp. has announced that its foundation will take over lead management and oversight of Dozer Day, an event where kids drive heavy construction equipment to raise community funding. Renee...

National solar installer opens Portland location.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker One of the country's largest solar installers, California-based REC Solar, has opened its first Oregon location in Portland. REC joins a stampede of out-of state companies specializing in the design and...

A new era brings a new arena to University of Oregon.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf When the University of Oregon men's basketball team won the first ever NCAA tournament in 1939, Mac Court was the structural equivalent of a sprightly teenager. Eighty-two years later, however, UO's athletic...

Group of Portland metro high-school students tackle empty retail space.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf The task was a daunting one: Take 13,000 square feet of recently vacated second-floor, downtown retail space and spend a morning brainstorming a sure-fire way to redevelop and market it. While that would be a tough...

Alley plans run for Oregon state treasurer seat.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Allen Alley has resigned from his position as Gov. Ted Kulongoski's deputy chief of staff. The co-founder and board member of Tualatin-based Pixelworks has instead declared his candidacy for Oregon state treasurer as a...

DLR recognized for Tigard mall expansion.
March 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Washington Square Mall designer DLR Group has received a merit award from the International Council of Shopping Centers for the firm's work on the 2007 expansion of the mall. The award recognized DLR for improving the...

The city of North Powder vacates shaky city hall structure.
March 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The city of North Powder needs to build a new city hall and may tap into the construction industry's future labor pool to do so. City councilors voted earlier this week to vacate the exiting city hall building because...

Commentary: Employers have vote on politics in the workplace.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Rich Meneghello Never before has a presidential election had the potential to wreak as much havoc on workplaces as the 2008 election could bring to bear. Most people are accustomed to a measure of division between co-workers come...

Miller Nash in Portland promotes nine.
March 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Miller Nash has promoted Abraham J.B. Cable, Kieran J. Curley, Kelly S. Hossaini, Hong N. Huynh, Clifton Molatore, Ryan R. Nisle, Michael Porter, Justin C. Sawyer and Dustin R. Klinger to partner. Cable's practice...

West Coast Bank in Portland promotes DiStefano.
March 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff West Coast Bank has promoted Dagmar DiStefano to executive vice president of retail and real estate lending at its Wilsonville Credit Center. DiStefano worked in senior managements positions at West Coast Bank for...

Manzanita office of Otak hires Lawrence.
March 7, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Otak has hired Will Lawrence as a survey technician in its Manzanita office. Lawrence has experience in field data collection and construction layout, as well as forest management.

Rebuilding the bones of Pettygrove Place in Northwest Portland.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker When A Cut Above Construction began rebuilding the Pettygrove Place condominiums in Northwest Portland last year, it deemed the building the worst case of dry rot the company had ever seen. The company attributes...

Golf course's drive to rezone sparks debate in Portland.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf If North Portland's Colwood Golf Course rezones from open space to light industrial, Portland International Airport stands to gain about 50 acres for the reserve of land the agency could tap into for future expansions...

Portland Development Commission explores new joint venture program.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The Portland Development Commission is considering launching a new program to promote joint ventures between large builders and mid-size minority, women and emerging small businesses. Many public programs,...

Company opens first showroom in Portland.
March 10, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff JELD-WEN has picked the U.S. Bank Tower as the home of the door-and-window manufacturer's first downtown Portland showroom. The company plans to fill more than 1,200 square feet on the tower's first floor with...

Worker killed on highway paving project east of Alsea.
March 10, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff An employee of Hatch Co. died last week while working on a project to repave a section of Highway 34 that was damaged during a storm in early December. Joshua Moughler, of Stayton, was operating an asphalt grinder...

Northwest Crossing in Bend hires Edmondson.
March 10, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Northwest Crossing has hired Jennifer Edmondson as a real estate broker. Edmondson previously served as a broker and relocation and referrals director for a large company on the Oregon coast. She holds a degree in...

Synder named leader of Stoel Rives practice group in Portland.
March 10, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Stoel Rives has named Joan P. Snyder as leader of the firm's Resources, Development and Environment practice group. Snyder will oversee lawyers assisting clients with natural resource development and restoration...

Commentary: Fed is struggling as the economy falters.
March 10, 2008... Byline: William Rutherford As Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke continues to grapple with the hand dealt to him by his predecessor, the outcome still hangs in the balance. He must struggle with a slowing economy on one hand and...

Sockeye plans big development for Portland's little Chinatown.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Portland's Chinatown has its share of restaurants and revitalized historic buildings, all leading outward from its looming, dragon-headed gate. But it also has its share of empty lots waiting to be filled by some sort of...

Biodiesel trekker retools for green building tour in Portland.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker A year ago Ty Adams was touring the West in a motor home, preaching the merits of biodiesel to schools, music festivals and RV shows - and picking up hitchhikers along the way. For four months the 30-year-old...

Lofts project in Portland creates bright spot on boulevard.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Nathalie Weinstein Despite her 24 years in architecture, the Graham Street Lofts represent many firsts for residential architect Hillary Mackenzie: her first mixed-used development, her first time building with European insulated...

Hoffman to build Legacy Emanuel Hospital expansion in Portland.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Legacy Health System has picked Hoffman Construction Co. to build its new 230,000-square-foot patient tower at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Northeast Portland. The seven-story building, in design by Zimmer Gunsul...

California company lands Wisconsin e-building project.
March 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff California software company Accela Inc. has been chosen by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services to develop software for a statewide e-building program. The program would allow Oregon contractors to...

Klamath airport plans relocation of wetlands.
March 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Klamath Falls Airport hopes to secure a $7 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to rebuild a runway and address issues with a nearby wetlands area. The airport plans to use about $4.75 million of the...

Eugene-based Solarc Architecture hires Spahn.
March 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Solarc Architecture and Engineering Inc. has hired Kevin Spahn as a project architect. Spahn has practiced architecture since 1994 and has worked on higher education, hotel, school, laboratory and clean-room projects....

Berger/Abam Engineers in Portland promotes Devery, White.
March 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Berger/Abam Engineers Inc. has promoted Helen Devery to Vancouver office branch manager and John D. White to regional client development director. Devery has been with the company for 14 years and has experience with...

2.Ink Studio in Portland hires Scrivner.
March 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff 2.Ink Studio has added Travis Scrivner to its landscape architecture studio. Scrivner holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. He previously worked with Gustafson Guthrie Nichol,...

Oregon attorneys elected to EEO board.
March 11, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Northwest Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Association board has elected Andrew Schpak as a member and Rick Liebman as treasurer. Schpak is an attorney with Barran Liebman. He specializes in...

Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects focuses on the use of rainforest wood.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff The Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects will hold a lecture today on rainforest wood use in green building. The lecture, titled Falling through the Cracks, will be given by...

Two-story building in Northeast Portland undergoes total renovation.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Dan Carter A two-story building in Northeast Portland is undergoing a total renovation to become retail space on the ground floor with office space above. The work on the former warehouse and retail building at 237 N.E. Broadway is...

Portland sustainability consultant and mechanical designer Peter Reppe is now accredited.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff Solarc Architecture and Engineering Inc. has announced that sustainability consultant and mechanical designer Peter Reppe is now Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accredited. Reppe...

DCI Engineers promotes Harry Jones II to senior management team of its Portland office.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff DCI Engineers has promoted Harry Jones II to the senior management team of its Portland office. In addition, it has promoted Jones and Wade Younie to managing principal.

Pacific Northwest College of Art secures rights to federally owned 511 building.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf After several months of review by the Department of Education and the General Services Administration, Pacific Northwest College of Art has secured the rights to the federally owned 511 Building. The school will...

Orgeon Department of Transportation's plan to hire apprentices raises concern.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Bridge and highway contractors are failing to meet workforce training goals set by the Oregon Department of Transportation. So the agency will begin paying contractors $20 an hour for each apprentice on a job and...

Portland's historic Pennington building sells for $3.2M.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Nathalie Weinstein The historic Pennington building, located at 1314 N.W. Glisan St., has been sold for $3.2 million. Daniel and Hooja Kim purchased the property from 1314 Northwest Glisan LLC, according to Clay Newton,...

Portland-based NBS Real Estate Capital purchases loan portfolio.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Norris Beggs & Simpson Real Estate Capital, a private-equity fund for commercial real estate investors and developers, recently finalized a purchase of a 13-asset loan portfolio acquired from a national conduit lender....

Lab Holding moves to front-runner spot for Centennial Mills project in Portland.
March 13, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf The long proposal process for the Centennial Mills development has finally borne fruit, as the Portland Development Commission announced Tuesday that Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Lab Holding was recommended by a PDC...

Oregon-based Parr Lumber takes its stores sustainable.
March 13, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker With its first sustainable store renovation, Parr Lumber is taking its green building materials off the shelves and into practice. The Hillsboro-based company for years has carried the handful of sustainable...

Corners covered on Portland mall project.
March 13, 2008... Byline: Dan Carter Kyler Hawking, left, and Jason Rivas, masons with Schonert & Associates, install pavers at the corner of Northwest Sixth Avenue and Couch Street as work on the I-205/Portland Mall Light Rail Project continues. Set to...

Ziba Design breaks ground on headquarters in Portland's Pearl District.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report The new 70,000-square-foot building that will serve as the new headquarters of Ziba Design is ready to rise in Portland's Pearl District. The firm held a ground breaking ceremony yesterday at the project site on...

Gardner submits resignation from Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Dan Gardner plans to leave his position as commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries in order to accept a legislative policy position with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in...

Oregon State University offers eco-engineering program.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report A new program at Oregon State University will allow students to study how to design within ecological systems while still meeting human needs. OSU's Ecological Engineering program will combine engineering...

Partner returns to Oregon-based Farleigh Wada Witt; Simon and Ayres hired.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Farleigh Wada Witt has announced the return of partner Mark R. Wada. In addition, it has hired David R. Simon as of counsel and Jason M. Ayres as an associate. Wada founded the firm in 1981. He specializes in...

Oregon-based Pacific Geotechnical hires Mare, Lawes.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Pacific Geotechnical LLC has hired Andre Mare as a principal and John Lawes as an engineering geologist. Mare has 17 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, including transit projects, design of...

Davis Wright Tremaine hires Benazzi at its Portland office.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Davis Wright Tremaine has hired John. B. Benazzi as an associate in its real estate and land use practice. Benazzi previously practiced at McEwen Gisvold LLP and was a law clerk with the Oregon Land Use Board...

Oregon-based Columbia Community Bank hires Rich Cool.
March 13, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Report Columbia Community Bank has hired Rich Cool as vice president and relationship manager at its Tanasbourne office. Cool has 31 years of banking industry experience.

Portland architect rethinks the stud: with steel.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf The simplest solution to a construction problem is often the best. But even then, often no one is willing to notice. That's something LeRoy Landers, an architect with Mahlum Architects, has learned since he came up...

Portland International Airport realignment work moves to the fast lane.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The Port of Portland has bypassed the traditional bidding process and tacked $600,000 onto an already-existing contract with Kodiak Pacific Construction to add a third lane for buses and taxis to the arrivals roadway...

Salem police nab suspects in thefts.
March 17, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Two men suspected of stealing appliances and fixtures from several homes under construction in Salem have been arrested by Salem Police. Arturo Bautista-Contreras, 22, and Jose Reyes-Mendoza, 22, are suspected of at...

Southern Oregon counties take hit from slowdown.
March 17, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Builders and contractors aren't the only ones feeling the hurt from the sluggish housing market. Fast-growing counties in Southern Oregon are being affected by fewer people seeking building permits and permits. ...

Green engineering conference set in Vancouver.(Conference news)
March 17, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Society of Women Engineers' Region J Conference in Vancouver, Wash., is going green this year. The conference, titled Sustainable and Responsible Engineering, will be held April 4-6 at the Vancouver Hilton. ...

Presentation in Portland focuses on postwar building.
March 17, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Jeanne Lambin, the author of Preserving Resources from the Recent Past, will discuss efforts to preserve modern buildings of the postwar era during an April 6 presentation at the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland....

Oregon State Bar chooses Bush, VanZanten as fellows.
March 17, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon State Bar has chosen attorneys Steve Bush and Katherine VanZanten as fellows for the 2008 OSB Leadership College. Bush is an associate with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt whose practice focuses on the Oregon...

University of Portland's summer vacation includes building projects.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker The University of Portland promises to carry a full load of construction this summer as two big projects get underway at its North Portland campus. Todd Construction this spring will start excavation and utility...

Portland sees development charge as solution for North Macadam transportation problems.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf Whether by car, by bike or on foot, Portland's North Macadam area isn't easy to traverse. Just as difficult is trying to find a way to pay for a solution to the multi-modal problem. As the city of Portland's Office...

Springfield-based Hamilton Construction Company inks land deal with Port.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker Hamilton Construction Company last week bought nearly four acres in the Rivergate Industrial District for use as an equipment yard and office space. The bridge-and-highway contractor, which has headquarters in...

Design event in Portland encourages browing at a snail's pace.
March 18, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Sometimes the design details of a building are best taken in at a crawl. That's the concept behind the 2008 Design Crawl, planned for this Thursday. The event, which raises money for programs for the Oregon...

'Big Look' group ready to resume work in Oregon.
March 18, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff The Big Look task force will spend the next nine months gathering information about Oregon's land-use planning laws, with the goal of having a list of recommendations on how to revamp the system ready for the 2009...

Beaverton properties change hands.
March 18, 2008... Byline: DJC Staff Two multifamily properties in Beaverton are operating under new names as a result of recent acquisitions. San Remo Apartments on Greensboro Way will operate as the Westbury Apartments, after it was bought by GM...

City of Portland looks at new streetcar corridors.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Tyler Graf The Portland Office of Transportation is looking for public feedback on its Streetcar System Plan, and plans to hold five workshops throughout the month of April to discuss streetcar corridors with the community. ...

Portland Development Commission tax abatements evolve to benefit low-income housing.
March 20, 2008... Byline: Libby Tucker After a dispute with Multnomah County last fall that held some Portland tax abatements in limbo, the Portland Development Commission's program to spur home construction in blighted neighborhoods is again going strong....