Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland articles from October 2005

Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland archives from October 2005

Discussion about how green builders can prove that sustainable projects cost less.
October 3, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan Even as the word LEED becomes synonymous with green building, discussion over whether it actually costs more to build to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards...

Portland architectural firm YGH nets national awards for facilities.
October 3, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Two recreational facilities designed by the Portland architectural firm Yost Grube Hall have won awards from a national sporting association. YGH's sustainable design for the $18 million addition and renovation of...

Portland Development Commission looks to give downtown Kenton facelift.
October 3, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Plans are going forward on the Portland Development Commission's downtown Kenton redevelopment project, aimed at revitalizing North Denver Avenue and the adjacent area around the Interstate MAX Kenton station. ...

Settling on Mount Hood.
October 4, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith After 14 months of conference calls, meetings and mediation, the Hood River Valley Residents Committee, Hood River County, Clackamas County and the Mt. Hood Meadows companies have reached a settlement proposal that...

OR Department of Environmental Quality fines cement firm $179K.
October 4, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $179,300 penalty to Overland Park, Kan.-based Ash Grove Cement Co. because of what it said were repeated violations of an air quality permit for its Baker County...

Medford goes upscale with 'Spaces' showcase.
October 4, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Southern Oregon interior designers say Medford's unassuming downtown is going upscale. A 24,000-square-foot former Acme Hardware Co. building at 1 W. Sixth St. has been overhauled by Medford developer Laz Ayala of...

National group says OR Building Congress' Construction Academy built academy into success.
October 4, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff The Oregon Building Congress' Construction Academy, which offers high school students work opportunities on light construction projects, will receive a National Workforce Development Award next month from a national...

Nonresidential starts fuel big month for builders.
October 4, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff A 6 percent jump in new nonresidential construction starts during August was the big contributor to an overall new construction increase of 2 percent for the month, according to national figures released last week by...

Mike Houck to be awarded as Architecture Foundation of Oregon's 2005 Honored Citizen.
October 5, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan Mike Houck is standing atop the slender ribbon of bluff that runs along Southeast Sellwood Avenue, looking across the morning stillness of Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge to the Portland skyline beyond. The refuge is where...

U.S. exports of construction machinery still strong.
October 5, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff U.S. construction equipment exports grew to more than $6 billion for the first six months of 2005, according to data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Exports during the second quarter of 2005 increased...

Seattle-based Grand Central Bakery plans for completion of large warehouse in Portland.
October 5, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Seattle-based Grand Central Bakery this week unveiled plans for a 10,700-square-foot warehouse in North Portland that the artisan bread dealer will use as a centralized hub for production. Grand Central obtained the...

'Road diet' concept eliminates unnecessary lanes, thereby improving street livability.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan It's not a case of roads being unable to do the top button on their favorite jeans: The "road diet" is the engineering equivalent of slimming down for health reasons, with benefits including improved traffic safety,...

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says Fern Ridge Dam drainage system repaired.
October 6, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Barnard Construction has completed repair efforts on the internal drainage system of the Fern Ridge Dam on the Long Tom River near Eugene, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday. Bozeman, Mont.-based Barnard...

U.S. Green Building Council taps LEED program manager to guide entire rating system.
October 6, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff The U.S. Green Building Council this week elevated a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program manager to vice president of the LEED program after the rating system's former vice president, Nigel Howard, took a...

Columns adorned with Greek art relocate to Elizabeth Lofts in Portland's Pearl District.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Two of the columns that once supported the former Lovejoy Ramp moved Wednesday to a new home in the Pearl District at the Elizabeth Lofts along Northwest 10th Avenue between Everett and Flanders streets. The...

A conversation with commercial real estate moguls, Jennifer and John Medak: It runs in the family.
October 7, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The world of commercial real estate is ruthless, competitive, fast-paced and aggressive. Then again, so are siblings. This may be why Jennifer and John Medak work so well together. The brother/sister duo sit...

Urban naturalist Mike Houck honored by architecture group.
October 7, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Mike Houck, an urban naturalist who for decades has worked to preserve green spaces throughout Portland - including Oaks Bottom, the city's first wildlife refuge - accepted the Architecture Foundation of Oregon's 2005...

Design commission gives the go-ahead for a condo project in Portland.
October 11, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan So much is in a name. And that's especially true at the under-construction condominium trio The Strand. Developer Jack Onder puts inspiration for the community's name in two locales: London and the beaches of...

Walker Macy landscape architects head to Germany for professional exchange opportunity.
October 12, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan Walker Macy landscape architect Charlie Brucker's been in Germany for more than two weeks now, not there for the beer halls and bratwurst but for a professional exchange designed to give two landscape architects - and...

Publication picks four Portland designers for top 100 U.S. architectural firms.
October 12, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Four Portland companies are highlighted in a residential building publication's new list of the top 100 U.S. architectural firms, but none are among the industry's "largest and best-known firms" that the publication...

Camas School District sells surplus land to Primelan Properties for residential development.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Land sales happen all the time, especially in areas growing as rapidly as Clark County in Southwest Washington. Residential building there is falling right in line with the rest of the Portland metro area, as new home...

Wash. State University students race to finish building home for Solar Decathlon competition.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan It took almost three years of planning, hands-on hard work and ingenuity, but a solar home built by Washington State University students is finally getting its day in the sun. The team's home is one of 18 entries in...

Infill code amendments move to Portland City Council.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan Zoning code amendments aimed at expanding possibilities for infill design moved one vote closer to becoming a reality as the Portland Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposed changes Tuesday. The...

A conversation with the Larsens, litigation liaisons in Portland's multifamily building process.
October 14, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Kirk and Kimberlee Larsen are out to fill a niche that they feel needs to be filled in Portland - quickly. The city is becoming an epicenter of smart, urban growth, as evidenced by the myriad multi-family...

Portland mayor hires staff for Community Visioning Project.
October 14, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Mayor Tom Potter has hired Liesl Wendt as the project manager for his Community Vision Project, which will begin engaging the community in early November. Wendt is an Oregon native who has spent the last 14 years...

Oregon State Univ. researchers hope to make hydrogen without burning fuel.
October 14, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Two Oregon State University researchers are guiding an effort in Corvallis to harness photosynthetic microbes that use solar energy to split water molecules and produce hydrogen fuel. Roger Ely and Frank Chaplen,...

Tualatin development offers ready-to-occupy industrial buildings to would-be site owners.
October 14, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Herman Road LLC, an entity affiliated with Specht Development Inc., is offering ready-to-occupy industrial buildings for businesses looking to own their own real estate. The property, located in the Tualatin...

Task force charged with trying to make sense of Oregon's prevailing wage laws.
October 17, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan A task force charged with unraveling how Oregon's prevailing wage rate law applies to complex public-private projects continued its work last week by brainstorming possible criteria for determining whether a project is...

Cascade Square building sold to Portland-based Harsch Investment.
October 17, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Harsch Investment Properties has acquired Cascade Square, a 91,864-square-foot suburban office building located off Oregon Highway 217 across from Washington Square Mall in Beaverton. The purchase price from...

Tillamook Forest Center in Oregon on schedule for April opening.
October 17, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Work on the $10.7 million Tillamook Forest Center in the Tillamook State Forest off state Highway 6 is on schedule, and the center will open in April 2006, the Oregon Department of Forestry said last week. The...

Beaverton-based Specht Development Inc. begins construction on new industrial subdivision in Ridgefi.
October 18, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Specht Development Inc. has begun construction on the Ridgefield Commerce Center, a new industrial subdivision with 11 "shovel-ready" lots totaling 29.5 useable acres, but only after two years of negotiations with the...

Washington city is 'Podunk Woodland' no more.
October 18, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff A developer says commercial and industrial real estate is suddenly hot in what he says was until recently considered "Podunk Woodland" in Southwest Washington, and he's wrapping work on one project there and prepping for...

The ride ideas: Portland firms are teaming to create concepts for the downtown transit mall.
October 19, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan A series of distinctly different urban rooms designed to let TriMet riders feel like they're arriving in a place rather than just getting off a train are at the core of a design concept for a planned downtown transit...

Portland-based Schnitzer Investment Corp. looks to bring $400M complex to Bellevue.
October 19, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff The development arm of Portland's Schnitzer Investment Corp. on Tuesday unveiled plans for a $400 million office and retail complex in Bellevue, Wash., that would replace plans to expand a Bellevue convention center and...

Northwest Oregon Regional Partnership plans forum.
October 20, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff The Northwest Oregon Regional Partnership will hold its 2005 fall forum from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 28 at McMenamins Grand Lodge, 3505 Pacific Ave., in Forest Grove. The event will begin with a welcome and...

11 join Sustainable Development Commission on development commission.
October 20, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff A former president of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Architecture Foundation of Oregon's 2005 Honored Citizen were among 11 individuals appointed Wednesday to the city of Portland and Multnomah County's new...

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry readies second annual Community Planning Day.
October 20, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Visitors of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday will get an insider's look at urban planning and design at OMSI's second annual Community Planning Day. The day-long event sponsored by the Oregon...

Growing Government Camp: Some say this sleepy town is ready to awaken.
October 20, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The unincorporated town of Government Camp - known as Gov'y to its 150 to 200 year-round residents - is in the midst of growth as civic, commercial and residential development swells. With a 128-unit resort...

A conversation with Portland architect Stuart Emmons about design competitions.
October 21, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan A couple of buzzwords - namely, "budget" and "bad design" - are being thrown around so much lately that Portland's architectural community is wondering if design competitions have lost their chance to become a routine...

Seven firms net awards at interior design celebration held in Portland.
October 21, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff A Pearl District eyewear space that's as much a retail experience as an optometric one and the Nashville, Tenn., office that a building materials manufacturer moved into after leaving Portland last year were among 10...

Net-zero-energy homes headed for Northeast Portland.
October 21, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff On the outside, the homes in the yet-to-be-built Blueberry Lane development will look very much like the stately Craftsman-style homes that dot the neighboring Eliot area of Northeast Portland. But on the inside, the...

Univ. of OR School of Law's November conference highlights Pacific Rim business relationships.
October 21, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff The University of Oregon School of Law's Portland program will play host to the 2005 Business Innovation and Law conference Nov. 18 at the Portland World Trade Center. "Business Lawyering in the Pacific Rim Economy"...

Architects wary about how Portland Development Comm. will communicate with design community.
October 24, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Now that Bruce Warner has settled in to his new position as executive director of the Portland Development Commission - and some of the media heat has cooled - Portland's architects are hopeful, if not a little wary,...

Captain Meriwether Lewis tried for theft, murder in U.S. District Court mock trial.
October 24, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff U.S. District Judge Owen Panner sat in judgment of a famous historical figure Thursday evening when he presided over the mock trial of Captain Meriwether Lewis, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. ...

Disaster relief, energy systems part of education events during Portland's Architecture Week.
October 24, 2005... Byline: DJC Staff Disaster rebuilding work, integrated energy systems and changes within the Portland Development Commission are among the topics touched on in the continuing education events offered as part of Architecture Week 2005. ...

Lake Oswego-based Otak Inc.'s 3D guru uses technological advances to cut costs and time.
October 25, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan John Gonzales' business card says visualization specialist, and although that works, he's really the guy who makes reality of things that aren't real - or things that aren't real quite yet. As the 3D guy at Otak...

Port of Portland looks to add storage space, rail loop.
October 25, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce The Port of Portland and Portland Bulk Terminals LLC last week agreed to a $16 million project that would expand Canoptex's existing Portland Bulk potash export facility at the port's Terminal 5 and...

Portland apartment complex sells for $6.3M.
October 25, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Parkside Commons sells for $6.3 million Parkside Commons Apartments in Portland has been sold to an unnamed buyer for $6.3 million with a 7.06 percent market cap rate from HSC Real Estate...

Commentary: Scrapping of prevailing wage law no relief for Gulf.
October 25, 2005... Byline: Dan Gardner They call this hurricane relief? The Bush administration's recent decision to suspend the prevailing wage requirements for workers in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina not only hurts workers scrambling to rebuild...

One expert says Portland Development Comm.'s proposed convention center hotel is a bad idea.
October 26, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Peppered throughout the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area are the Shilo Inn, the Marriott, the Holiday Inn, the Doubletree, the Travelodge and other modestly priced, modestly sized hotels within a half-mile...

Heritage Building in Portland renovated as LEED-rated mixed-use space.
October 26, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Renovation work has begun on a former King Neighborhood warehouse that will soon become a retail and office complex. The former Weimer Warehouse, known as the Heritage Building, is located at 3934...

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completing four-day Umpqua River entrance dredging.
October 26, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday will complete work on the first dredging in a year of the entrance to the Umpqua River. The Corps' Yaquina ship began dredging the entrance Monday. ...

U.S. secretary to address City Club of Portland's Business Issue Committee.
October 26, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Sandy K. Baruah, the acting U.S. assistant secretary of commerce, will discuss federal economic policy at the Nov. 14 meeting of the City Club of Portland's Business Issue Committee. Baruah, a...

OR-based STOA/EKA becomes LEEKA Architects and Planners.
October 26, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce STOA/EKA Architects last week changed its name to LEEKA Architects and Planners and unveiled a new Web site at www.leekainc.com. The Beaverton firm offers full architectural services including new...

Portland Engineering Briefs: October 26, 2005.
October 26, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce OSU engineering center opens Saturday Oregon State University will officially open its Kelley Engineering Center on Saturday. A grand opening event will begin with a college-wide series of...

Portland Legal Briefs: October 26, 2005.
October 26, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce MBA course covers civil procedure for e-discovery The Multnomah Bar Association will hold a continuing legal education course from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Red Star Tavern and Roast House, 503...

Diversity in age in the workplace brings about changes in workplace design.
October 27, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith For the first time in corporate history, people are becoming more aware of the range of generations occupying workspaces. Grandparents are working alongside - and sometimes even answering to - people fresh out of...

City of Portland considers converting Burnside, Couch into one-way streets.
October 27, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Anyone who has attempted to reach the south end of downtown Portland by way of West Burnside Street knows how frustrating it is to try to get there. The lack of left-hand turns on the two-way street forces drivers to...

American Society of Landscape Architects issues call for entries for 2006 awards program.
October 27, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce The American Society of Landscape Architects has released a call for professional and student entries in its 2006 awards program. The program is divided into categories of general design,...

Portland's government Web sites receive accolades.
October 27, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Portland's E-Government initiative received an award during the Center for Digital Government's 2005 Best of the Web ceremony. North Portland Online (eVolvement), a pilot project that uses the...

Fowle, Jones, Stout head AIA/Portland Design Awards jury.
October 27, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan The descriptor AIA/Portland President Stan Chesshir uses for the 2005 AIA/Portland Design Awards jury is "diverse." Chesshir says that not just because the three jurors come from cities separated by at least 300...

Proposed project's stagnation is evidence that some investors still aren't convinced that LEED works.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith The Standpoint, at the corner of 12th Avenue and Belmont Street in Southeast Portland, rests, waiting for something to happen. A year ago, the planned condominium project was the talk of green building circles,...

Recycle. Reuse. Remodel.: Leading residential remodeler sees growth going green.
October 28, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce It's been about a decade since Tom Kelly, president of the Portland-based Neil Kelly Co., decided to steer the design/build firm his father started in a greener direction. Kelly inherited the...

Learning LEED: PSU projects illustrate green building promises, perils and accomplishments.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan When it comes to researching LEED projects, Portland State University's got a front-of-the classroom seat. Even better, PSU sustainability experts get to watch real life unfold in the buildings - and have the chance to...

Commentary: Managing Stormwater: Portland builds green street projects to alleviate run-off damage.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Linc Mann When rain falls in Portland, it usually runs off streets and into the sewer system. But not on all Portland streets. The city has built and is developing a number of green street projects that mimic what happens...

Commentary: Schools get top grades but hospitals lag in green building implementation.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Katrina Morgan Architectural clients in the Pacific Northwest are reaching a threshold in their thinking about green design, with LEED guidelines now a part of many early design discussions. But although these discussions are...

Commentary: Architect talks about challenging traditional architectural monument.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan In a city where coherence and context reign over the design of the built community, imagining what noted architectural author Charles Jencks means by an "iconic building" takes a little more effort than it might...

Architecture outsiders offer input on Portland's best.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Alison Ryan This week, names like Architecture W, Hennebery Eddy, Thomas Hacker and BOORA got the kind of attention that names like Saks, BCBG and Ann Taylor usually draw from Pioneer Place shoppers. From Oct. 17 through...

Portland Construction Briefs: October 28, 2005.
October 28, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Woodburn Company Stores wraps expansion Woodburn Company Stores has completed its 24,000-square-foot, $1.6 million expansion. Construction was led by the Portland-based general contractor S.D....

Commentary: Are subcontractor bids binding? That depends.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Paul J. Holma When a public bid opening occurs, and contractors' bids are laid on the table for everyone to see, contractors and subcontractors know who was low. Subcontractors learn whether they submitted the low subcontract bids...

Commentary: Not so fast - that temp may be your employee.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Paula A. Barran It made sense at the time. The Massachusetts-based USCO Distribution Services Inc. needed extra workers and the flexibility that a staffing service could bring its freight and warehousing operations. So, it...

Office market strengthens: Kruse Way leads the pack, but all submarkets show improvement in the third quarter.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith There's no question that Kruse Way is the king of office space, but because vacancy rates are so tight there, office demand is moving west, according to the latest market forecast from Grubb & Ellis Co. Grubb &...

Portland apartment complex sells for $22.75 million.
October 29, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Scott Mountain by the Brook Apartments in Portland has been sold to Cottonwood Capital, a real estate investment and asset management company in Salt Lake City. The purchase price for the 262-unit...

Harsch buys downtown Portland's Pacific First Center.
October 29, 2005... Byline: The Daily Journal of Commerce Harsch Investment Properties has purchased Pacific First Center at the intersection of Southwest Sixth Avenue and Southwest Taylor Street in Portland from longtime owner Prudential Real Estate...