Demolition in Troutdale paves the way for new development
Its a pretty exciting day in Troutdale, said Mayor Doug Daoust at the Troutdale City Council meeting Tuesday evening, speaking about the demolition of the old buildings on the Discovery block (or Marino) thats been raising dust in the citys downtown since Monday.
The developers, Discovery Block Partners, which includes Bremik Construction, have purchased the entire block on the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Plans for development include retail and commerical offices facing downtown, two-story rowhouses along Southwest Second Street and a medium-size parking lot.
A new city hall for Troutdale is one prospect for use in the new space.
The developers also will fill the basement remnant of the east building. Troutdale Vision Clinic is the only building still standing on the block, independently owned from the rest of the estate.
Mike Greenslade, vice president of Bremick Construction, expects the demolition to be done by the end of next week.
A beginning construction date for the new development has not been set. Outlooks for its completion are more than a year away.
As for the old police station across the street, the city has received bids to have it demolished, but have not yet awarded a developer to complete the job, according to Debbie Stickney, city recorder for Troutdale.
Troutdale City Council also passed resolutions to allow contractors working on the I-84 Sandy River Bridge Replacement project to continue staging equipment on city property in exchange for the demolishing of the old sewer plant aeration base.
The sewer treatment plant was closed in 2000 and a new plant was built in the north part of the city, yet there are still components of the old plant that need to be removed.
Public Works Director Travis Hultin cited benefits of the exchange as saving the city time, money and effort.
The city awarded Hamilton Construction, the contractors whove been working on the Sandy River Bridge for the past two years, the bid to demolish the plant at an exchange value of around $100,000.
Hamilton has about 18 months of construction left to go and the city expects the sewer plant to be demolished within that time.