May 21,2010:NWLP
5/18/10
10:16 AM
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Two proposed construction projects in Oregon shelved
Two large private construction proj-
ects supported by building trades unions
have been shelved.
Earlier this month, NorthernStar
Natural Gas Inc., halted development of
a $650 million liquefied natural gas fa-
cility at Bradwood Landing near Asto-
ria and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Last week, the Portland Develop-
ment Commission (PDC) voted to re-
new its office lease in Old Town, scut-
tling a proposal by TMT Development
Co. to move to the yet-to-be-built Park
Avenue West Tower downtown.
NorthernStar’s proposal to turn an
abandoned lumber mill on the Colum-
bia River into a natural gas plant would
have created 450 construction jobs over
three years. It would have been union-
built under a project labor agreement
with the Columbia Pacific Building and
Construction Trades Council.
“There's a lot of spin about why
NorthernStar bowed out of the Brad-
wood Landing project, but one thing is
clear: Foot-dragging on the part of state
regulators didn’t help,” said Tom Ivan-
cie, executive director of Energy Action
Northwest, a labor-management coali-
tion promoting reliable energy. “Their
cunning game of ‘bring me a rock, no a
different rock,’ played for six long
years, finally wore down Bradwood’s
investors.”
Initial development work on Brad-
wood Landing began nearly six years
ago. Since that time, the company has
spent nearly $100 million.
“While we’re disappointed, we are
truly grateful for the tremendous sup-
port the project received from citizens
in Clatsop County and Oregon’s busi-
ness and labor communities,” said
NorthernStar President Paul Soanes.
“Bradwood Landing is a great example
of a project that business and labor
came together to support.”
Tom Chamberlain, president of the
Oregon AFL-CIO, said the decision to
suspend the project will hurt all Orego-
nians. “From the start this was a project
mired in conflict and rhetoric, and it’s
disappointing that the opponents took
such a short-sighted view, and refused
to consider the benefits this project
would bring to Oregon, including pro-
viding an efficient bridge fuel, creating
much-needed jobs, and increasing com-
petition to drive down natural gas prices
for Oregon’s consumers,” Chamberlain
said.
Had PDC, Portland’s urban renewal
agency, voted to relocate, it would have
kick-started construction on the 33-
story Park Avenue West Tower. TMT
halted work a year ago after the Great
Recession dried up construction loans.
The stoppage pushed hundreds of union
construction workers onto the unem-
ployment line and left a large hole in the
ground in the heart of downtown.
TMT needed PDC to commit to a
long-term lease for three floors in order
to qualify for a construction loan.
At a PDC meeting May12, TMT
President Vanessa Sturgeon (grand-
daughter of owner Tom Moyer) said
their project would put about 300 con-
struction workers back to work by June
30.
Richard Sells, superintendent for
Hoffman Construction, told commis-
sioners that resurrecting Park Avenue
West might even encourage other proj-
ects to move foreward.
“If this project goes, I would venture
to say that other projects would have the
courage to go also,” he said.
PDC Executive Director Bruce
Warner said problems with the Park Av-
enue West Tower location arose when
TMT wouldn’t reveal who was secur-
ing its construction loan and was un-
willing to put in writing a start-date for
construction once PDC signed a lease.
Additional questions were raised as to
whether or not two other tenants —
Portland law firm Stoel Rives and Nike-
town — had actually committed to
long-term leases at the building.
In a press release, Warner said Old
Town won out because the space didn’t
have to be financed and constructed and
there were no worries about unantici-
pated costs and who would pay for
them. “This was a very difficult deci-
sion,” he said. “I feel we got a very good
deal for Portland’s taxpayers.”
The final vote to renew the Old
Town lease was 3-1.
John Mohlis, a PDC commissioner
who is head of the Columbia Pacific
Building and Construction Trades
Council, had to recuse himself from the
debate after PDC attorneys determined
he had a conflict of interest.
...Private casino has union support
IBEW well connected
An open house May 15 commemorating the commission of IBEW Local 48’s
solar array attracted several dignitaries to the union hall in Northeast
Portland, including U. S. Sen. Ron Wyden (above). The 360 solar arrays were
installed by members of Local 48 and used as a training project. Oregon Iron
Works fabricated the steel beams, and apprentices from Iron Workers Local
29 set them in place. Campbell Crane and Star Rentals donated equipment.
“I guarantee, you won’t find a better built array ... anywhere,” said Local 48
Business Manager Clif Davis. The 78-kilowatt array will provide 40 percent
of the building’s electrical usage for the next 30 years and will be a teaching
exhibit for individuals and businesses interest in installing clean energy
products. Joining Wyden at the dedication were Congressman David Wu,
former Gov. John Kitzhaber, and many other politicians. Davis said the
NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center has trained over 1,000 apprentices
and journeymen in solar technology. Construction of the solar array cost
$630,387. The local received $378,639 from Veber Solar 1, and will receive
$142,300 from the Oregon Energy Trust. The lifespan of the solar array is 30
years. Upon paying off the project in six years, it will pay for 40 percent of the
facility’s power bill for the next 24 years. The project added approximately
$900,000 to the value of the union hall.
MAY 21, 2010
(From Page 1)
initiative authorizes 25 percent of ad-
justed gross gaming revenues — esti-
mated at more than $186 million a year
— be dedicated to K-12 education and
other public services.
Studer told the Labor Press that by
statute, half of the 25 percent would go
to schools and 30 percent would be
shared by every county in the state, with
allotment based on population. The
Oregon Lottery Commission would
regulate all distributions.
Oregon requires 110,358 valid sig-
natures for a constitutional amendment
and 82,769 valid signatures for a
change in state law. The initiatives must
be turned in by July 2 in order to appear
on the Nov. 2 ballot.
With its endorsement, affiliates of
the Building Trades Council pledged to
help collect signatures.
The Good for Oregon Committee
has contracted with Democracy Re-
sources of Portland for signature gath-
ering. About 100 people, some of them
laid-off construction workers, have
been hired to collect signatures through-
out the state.
“Our biggest hurdle is getting the
signatures in time,” Studer said. “The
more hands we have on deck, the better
off we’ll be.”
This is Rossman’s and Studer’s third
attempt at building the entertainment
complex. They first showcased the proj-
ect — a “world-class entertainment
center” that would, in phases, include a
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
luxury hotel, fine restaurants, a spa,
shopping, a movie cinema, live theater
venues for local, national and interna-
tional stars, a bowling alley, and water
park — at a press conference at the
Kennel Club in April 2006 with public
officials and union leaders.
But their initiatives to allow for con-
struction never got to the signature-
gathering phase due to delays getting
ballot titles approved by the secretary of
state, then by a challenge before the
Oregon Supreme Court.
The ballot titles were certified and
cleared by the courts, but in 2008 they
couldn’t find enough backers to run a
signature-gathering campaign.
This month they came forward with
two initiatives and a half-dozen finan-
cial backers who are ready to move the
project forward.
“This partnership group is commit-
ted to the building and operating of the
Resort Casino and Entertainment Cen-
ter the Oregon way — constructed by
union craftspeople using local suppli-
ers, and incorporating state-of-the-art
green building techniques,” Rossman
said.
John Mohlis, executive secretary-
treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Build-
ing and Construction Trades Council,
said the announcement couldn’t come
at a better time. “Job creation is one of
the most important issues facing Ore-
gon right now,” he said. “We have any-
where from 25 to 50 percent unemploy-
ment in the trades and no real big
projects on the horizon.”
The project is expected to create
hundreds of direct construction jobs,
generating a $286 million annual pay-
roll. The facility itself is expected to
provide 3,000 permanent jobs, and an
additional 2,300 indirect jobs.
“These will all be local, family-wage
jobs,” Mohlis said.
If successful at the polls, construc-
tion most likely wouldn’t begin until the
third or fourth quarter of 2011.
The partnership group behind the
casino and entertainment center are:
• Oregon Gaming & Entertainment
Co., principals Studer & Rossman: an
Oregon-based investment company;
• MGP Racing LLC, principal
Arthur McFadden: owner of Mult-
nomah Greyhound Park;
• Navegante Group: A Las Vegas-
based hospitality company specializing
in casino development, consulting and
management;
• Clairvest: A Canada-based investor
in North American gaming-develop-
ment companies; and,
• Innovation Capital: A Los Angeles-
based gaming, leisure and hospitality
investment banking firm.
Studer emphasized that the partner-
ship group is not requesting “a dime of
taxpayer subsidy or special treatment”
to build and operate the facility, and it
will pay its full share of taxes — in ad-
dition to the 25 percent for schools and
other services.
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