News and Events

July 30th, 2010

A schedule of vessels in port, vessels due and inactive ships in repair.

VESSELS IN PORT
 GRAIN VESSELS
 
Alethini: Vancouver anchor
Blue Baie: Portland Columbia Grain
Clipper Monarch: Astoria anchor
Eleftheria: Kalama Export
New Creation: Vancouver anchor
Oliva: Astoria anchor
Port Maubert: Vancouver anchor
Sunny Napier Ii: Longview anchor

 OTHER VESSELS

Dodge Island: Astoria Pier 1 West
Kiwi Trader: Longview Weyerhaeuser Log B
Mount Adams: Portland Glacier
Pac Star: Vancouver 2, Berth 1
Seaspan Barge 250: Portland Ashgrove
Tenca Arrow: Portland Berth 604
Terrapin Island: Astoria Pier 1 Face
Tpc Lyttelton: Portland International Terminals
USNS Pililaau: Vancouver 2, Berth 13
 
 PORTLAND SHIP REPAIR
YARD AND INACTIVE VESSELS

Beaver State: Portland Berth 301
Dove: Portland Berth 313
Noaa Rainier: Portland Dry Dock No. 5
 VESSELS DUE
Friday

Dry Beam, from Japan, Kashima at Astoria

Anchor

Kaghan, from Japan, Yokohama at Astoria

Anchor

New Creation, from Japan, Kobe at Vancouver,

Wa anchor

Pac Star, from China, Nanjing at Vancouver,

Wa 2, Berth 1

Saturday

Barge 6506 and tug, from Port Angeles at

Portland KinderMorgan Willbridge Upper

Beautiful Rena, from South Korea, Busan at

Portland Simplot

Cscc Shanghai, from New Westminster,

Bc at Portland Berth 601

Jin Ping, from China, Qingdao at Vancouver,

Wa anchor

Mariline, from Chile, Punta Arenas at

Vancouver 2, Berth 5

Millennium Falcon, from Vancouver,

Bc at Vancouver 2, Berth 7

Morning Spruce, from South Korea, Ulsan at

Portland Berth 601

Pacific Makassar, from Los Angeles at

Kalama Bhp

Sanko Mineral, from Japan, Ishinomaki at

Vancouver anchor

Tampa Bay, from Vancouver at

Vancouver anchor

Triton Lark, from Vancouver, B.C. at

Portland Columbia Grain

Sunday

Col. Caballero, from Mexico, Manzanillo at

Astoria anchor

Formosa Seven, from South Korea, Ulsan at

Kalama Chemical

New Ambition, from Stockton at

Vancouver anchor

New Century 1, from Japan, Toyohashi at

Portland Berth 415

Pan Leader, from South Korea, Busan at

Vancouver anchor

 TO DEPART
Friday

Cosco Felixstowe, for Vancouver, B.C.

From Portland Berth 605

Ken Mei, for Japan, Tokyo from Portland

Columbia Grain

Kiwi Trader, for Japan, Matsuyama from

Longview Weyerhaeuser Log B

Matakana Island, for Japan, Maizuru from

Longview Weyerhaeuser Log A

Ocean Highway, for San Diego from

Portland Berth 607

Saturday

Barge 6506 and tug, for Anacortes from

Portland BP

Eleftheria, for China, Chiwan from Kalama,

Wa Export

Millennium Falcon, for China, Nanjing from

Vancouver 2, Berth 7

USNS Pililaau, for from Vancouver 2,

Berth 13

Sunday

Cscc Shanghai, for South Korea, Ulsan from

Portland Berth 601

Mariline, for Chile, Punta Arenas from

Vancouver 2, Berth 5

Morning Spruce, for Tacoma from

Portland Berth 601

Mount Adams, for Vancouver, B.C. from

Portland Glacier



 

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July 30th, 2010

News that economic growth slowed during the spring gave the stock market a fitting end to a choppy July -- yet another back-and-forth day.

NEW YORK (AP) -- News that economic growth slowed during the spring gave the stock market a fitting end to a choppy July -- yet another back-and-forth day.

The Dow Jones industrial average, down almost 120 points in the first minutes of trading, recovered and seesawed throughout the session. The Dow was up 17 in late afternoon. The other major indexes also rose modestly. Traders opted for the safety of Treasury bonds, and that sent interest rates lower.

But stocks were on track for their strongest month in a year. The Dow was up 7.1 percent going into Friday's trading.

The Commerce Department said the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, grew at an annual pace of 2.4 percent from April to June. That's less than the 2.5 percent economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast.

At first the report confirmed investors' belief that the recovery is weakening as unemployment remains high and government stimulus programs end. Consumers cut back on their spending because of job worries and companies spent less to rebuild inventories.

But analysts said that as investors read deeper into the report, it didn't look as bad as they initially thought. They found some good news in consumers' savings rate.

"The consumer actually decided to save more," Jason Pride, director of investment strategy at Glenmeade, an investment management company. "Consumers have done more to repair their balance sheets than thought."

Pride said that means that those extra savings will eventually be spent, giving the economy a lift. Consumer spending accounts for the bulk of economic activity.

Business spending on equipment and software jumped in the second quarter by the biggest amount in 13 years. That was encouraging, analysts said, because it means companies are eventually going to start adding jobs.

"Companies are spending and eventually it will turn into employment," said Ron Weiner, president and CEO at RDM Financial Group.

It wasn't surprising that stocks gave up their gains and turned lower. Trading has been erratic as weak economic numbers have conflicted with companies' generally good second-quarter earnings and forecasts for the rest of the year. Investors have been quick to cash in their gains because they don't have a sense of where the market is headed.

In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 17.48, or 0.2 percent, to 10,484.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.34, or 0.3 percent, to 1,104.87, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 9.09, or 0.4 percent, to 2,260.78.

Rising stocks outpaced losers by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange where volume came to 745 million shares.

Volume was extremely light even for a summer day. That continued a trend that has been seen for much of July. Analysts say many investors, uncertain about the where the market is heading, are staying on the sidelines or moving money into safer alternatives.

That strategy sent Treasurys higher Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its prices, fell to 2.91 percent from 2.99 percent. Its yield is often used as a benchmark for interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans. A yield below 3 percent suggests investors are worried about long-term growth and don't fear inflation will be a problem anytime soon. Inflation is a threat to the long-term value of bonds.

Investors got some mildly good news from two other economic reports. The University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment index for July rose slightly more than expected to 67.8 from a preliminary reading of 66.5. Economists expected it to rise to 67.

And the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, which measures manufacturing activity in the Midwest, rose unexpectedly to 62.3 this month from 59.1 in June. Economists were expecting a drop to 56.5. The report is seen as an indicator of how the Institute for Supply Management's nationwide index is likely to come in when it's released on Monday.

Traders were also being cautious because they're waiting for a series of key reports next week that will give a first look at how the economy is doing in the current quarter. The Institute for Supply Management releases its reports on the manufacturing and services sectors during July and the Labor Department issues its report on employment for this month.

Economists predict the two ISM reports will show manufacturing and the services industry expanded in July but at a slower pace than in June.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate likely inched higher to 9.6 percent in July from 9.5 percent in June as the government laid off more temporary census workers. Private employers likely added 90,000 jobs during the month, slightly better than in June.

Overseas markets mostly fell Friday after reports that Spain's credit rating is likely to be cut by Moody's Investors Service. The potential downgrade comes as the country's unemployment rate jumped to a 13-year high of 20.09 percent and the government continues to grapple with rising debt problems.

Spain's IBEX 35 fell 1.2 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.6 percent.

--The Associated Press
 
 
 

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July 30th, 2010

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the 677-mile “Ruby” natural gas pipeline across Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the 677-mile “Ruby” natural gas pipeline across Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California.

The pipeline will cross more than 1,000 rivers and streams, affecting habitat for several endangered fish species, and will use more than 400 million gallons of water over the next several years from an increasingly arid area, according to the center.

“Instead of creating an entirely new path of destruction, an existing pipeline route should have been utilized,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director at the center.

The lawsuit, filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenges the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to issue rights of way on federal lands and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s review of the project’s impacts on endangered species.  

The challenge was filed in the Ninth Circuit because of a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that bypasses federal district court for challenges to energy projects.

The center argues that pipeline will have serious impacts on several endangered fish species, including the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Warner Creek sucker, Lost River sucker, Colorado pikeminnow and others.  

The pipeline, which would be built by the El Paso Corporation, would cross 209 streams that serve as habitat for these fish. The work could also include blasting through 143 streams to lay the pipeline and depleting flows with its substantial use of water, according to the center.

The center argues that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to consider the potential for a pipeline rupture at stream crossings along the route.

“If there’s one lesson we should have learned from the Gulf disaster, it’s that things can and do go wrong when regulatory agencies don’t do their jobs,” said Greenwald.     
--James Mayer

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July 30th, 2010

The Commerce Department estimates the economy shrank 2.6 percent last year -- the steepest drop since 1946 -- instead of the 2.4 percent originally estimated.

WASHINGTON -- The recession was deeper than the government previously thought.

The Commerce Department, in revisions issued today, estimates the economy shrank 2.6 percent last year -- the steepest drop since 1946. That's worse than the 2.4 percent decline originally estimated.

The economy's plunge underscores why the unemployment rate surged to 10.1 percent in October, a 26-year high.

The revisions in gross domestic product, or GDP, now show zero growth in 2008. That compares with a 0.4 percent gain previously estimated. The economy also grew less in 2007 (1.9 percent) than earlier thought (2.1 percent).

For all three years, consumers spent less and home builders cut more deeply than had been thought. Those factors help explain the downward revisions on the economy.

The revisions also show that struggling state and local governments cut spending more last year than previously thought. And they spent less in 2007 and 2008.

The economy slid into its worst recession since the Great Depression in late 2007. Many economists think the recession ended last summer, although a panel of academics that dates the start and end of recessions hasn't declared when this one ended. The panel usually does so well after the fact.

From the start of the recession in December 2007 until the April-to-June quarter of 2009, the economy sank 4.1 percent. That was deeper than the 3.7 percent decline previously estimated for the recession.

GDP is the broadest gauge of the economy's health. It measures the value of all goods and services -- from machinery to manicures -- produced in the United States.

The Commerce Department's latest revisions reach back to 2007. They're based on more complete data and on methodology thought to be more accurate.

 
-- The Associated Press

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July 30th, 2010

The Trapper timber sale was bought by Seneca Jones Timber Co. of Eugene and logging was to begin on Monday.

The U.S. Forest Service has suspended logging an experimental timber sale on the Willamette National Forest after finding a pair of northern spotted owls moved closer to the area.

Forest spokeswoman Judith McHugh said today that they will wait to hear from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists how to proceed in light of the owls' threatened species status.

The Trapper timber sale was bought by Seneca Jones Timber Co. of Eugene and logging was to begin on Monday.

The project is part of an experiment into ways logging can be used to mimic the forest structures favored by owls that are created by fire.

Spotted owl numbers have been declining across the Northwest since it was declared a threatened species 20 years ago.

-- The Associated Press



 

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July 30th, 2010

Backers are disappointed when the state decides not to fund a $100,000 grant request, but they continue to raise money -- and practice on city streets.

SHERWOOD -- Marie Mendoza sees her community's desire for a skate park every day. All she has to do is look up.

Mendoza helps run Goin' Off Skateboards, a skate shop that opened in downtown Sherwood last year. Pinned all over the small shop's ceiling are wrinkled one- and five-dollar bills -- totaling just less than $100 at last count -- that the town's youths have brought in since spring. Each bill bears the name of its donor scrawled in pen. A sign in the middle reads, "Put a dollar on the ceiling & it goes to the skate park."

"Believe me," said store owner Bud Ransom, "there's a lot of interest in this town for a skateboard park."

Interest isn't the problem. After city leaders identified a location and paid almost $10,000 for a professionally designed concept and other preliminary work, the project has sputtered for a different reason: a lack of money. That's left the park in limbo as supporters continue to wait -- and wonder -- what the outcome will be after years of discussion.

The project was dealt a significant blow earlier this month, when the city officially learned it did not receive a $100,000 grant requested from the state Department of Parks and Recreation. Out of 31 applicants in the running for a large award this year, Sherwood's pitch ranked second-lowest. Only the top nine applications received funding.

Sherwood's low ranking doesn't necessarily reflect a poor presentation by the city, said Michele Scalise, the state's grant program coordinator. It has more to do with the department's criteria, which favored plans with a wider scope, she said.

"It is a skate park, which ultimately ... is a very limited group of people," Scalise said.

Estacada also requested grant money for a skate park. That proposal finished 29th out of 31, just ahead of Sherwood.

Sherwood City Manager Jim Patterson described the result as discouraging but said it wouldn't deter the overall effort to build the park, proposed for city-owned land near the Sherwood Regional Family YMCA.

"It's disappointing, but you don't quit," Patterson said. "You pick the ball up and you say, 'OK, we'll do it again next time.'"

The city set aside $100,000 in matching money for the park in this year's budget -- a requirement for the grant application. The total cost for the 5,000-square-foot first phase is estimated at more than $260,000, including preliminary work. City staff plan to bring the matter to the Sherwood City Council next month for direction.

Meanwhile, many regulars at Goin' Off are growing skeptical the park will ever be built, Mendoza said. But the enthusiasm among others isn't tempered.

Count William Glover and Isaiah Harris in that camp. The two skaters spent a recent afternoon in the shop.

"It would be great," Glover, 13, said of a skate park. He noted a lack of options in the city.

Said 10-year-old Harris: "I'll stay there all night."

Ransom said he'd like to see the city step up and take a stronger lead on the project, though even he has doubts about its future. Other supporters may be waiting for a more definitive city commitment before they jump on board, he said.

"If they're actually sincere about doing a park," Ransom said, "get in, get on it and do it."

The idea of a skate park in Sherwood has been brewing for some time, Patterson said. Informal talk goes back to the 1990s, as skate parks were springing up in neighboring cities, he said.

It wasn't until 2008 that the skate park effort became organized, Patterson said.

Small-scale fundraisers have since taken shape. Goin' Off held a raffle last week, with funds going toward the park. A city-supported pledge drive has committed more than $6,000 from 53 donors, according to Patterson.

Until a park is built, skateboarders will continue to use city streets, sidewalks and buildings -- drawing the attention of police at times -- to practice their sport, Ransom said.

"If you don't have a skateboard park," he said, "your city is a skateboard park."

Patterson said the city could consider a temporary option if it can't secure money for a full-scale skate park right away. Community feedback will factor in, but it's unclear if the city will be able to break ground for the park this year, he said.

Ransom and Mendoza see a park's likely users almost every day. For them, a new facility can't come soon enough.

"These kids want it so bad," Ransom said, "they can taste it."

-- Eric Florip

 

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July 30th, 2010

The two cities haven't always seen eye to eye, but they'd rather come up with a plan for the land recently brought inside the urban growth boundary than have Washington County or Metro do it.

The two cities have always been close neighbors. They haven't always seen eye to eye on planning.

But Tualatin and Wilsonville are joining together to craft a clear, unified vision for developing almost 1,000 acres of land between them. Regardless of history, the undertaking itself is unusual, with two cities together tackling a project of such scale, said Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp. 

"We're sort of exploring something that doesn't routinely happen between any other cities," Knapp said.

The land, about 900 acres known as the Basalt Creek and West Railroad areas, was brought fully into the Metro regional government's urban growth boundary in 2004. It sits largely undeveloped near Interstate 5 and Southwest Boones Ferry Road in Washington County, creating an ambiguous boundary between Tualatin and Wilsonville.

"It's kind of a no-man's land," said Tualatin City Manager Sherilyn Lombos.  "There's no dividing line."

Part of the interest in planning it cooperatively, she said, is coming up with a solution that works for both cities and having a strong voice in the outcome.

If they don't, Lombos said, "either Washington County or Metro will plan it for us," Lombos said. "We'd rather work together and control our own destiny."

When the land, which is now a mix of rural residential and farmland, was designated for future urban development, it came with a 2012 deadline to form a concept plan, Lombos said. Tualatin and Wilsonville are spending at least the next year doing that.

The two cities bring different perspectives to the table. Tualatin's south end is mostly residential, and Wilsonville's north end is industrial. The sides will look for a plan that will fit between those areas while blending with both.

The process began in earnest with a memorandum of understanding. Tualatin and Wilsonville have hired a graduate student intern who will divide time as an intermediary between them on the project.

The two cities have found themselves on opposite sides of an issue before -- most recently on a long-planned connector road between Interstate 5 and Oregon 99W.

Tualatin, along with other Washington County partners, supported the project. Wilsonville joined Clackamas County in opposing, citing its possible impact on I-5 capacity and freight traffic.

The project remains stalled. But that's just water under the bridge, according Lou Ogden,  Tualatin's 16-year mayor.

"The issues we've had in the past are not related to that land or that use," Ogden said. "You move on, and you get cooperative."

The outcome of the joint undertaking remains unclear, though it is likely that at least some of the land will be designated for industrial use, according to both sides.

Neither city is looking for a land grab, said Stephan Lashbrook,  Wilsonville's assistant community development director. He said planners are looking at who can provide which services to achieve the best possible outcome.

"The relationships between the two mayors and the two city managers has been a critical part in making this happen," Lashbrook said.

-- Eric Florip

 

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July 30th, 2010

SILICON FOREST BLOG: A look back at the week in Oregon technology.

IN THE NEWS

• Portland's Elemental Technologies won $7.5 million in backing from Steamboat Ventures, Disney's venture arm.
  

• Rainn Wilson, star of TV's "The Office," fired back at Think Brilliant, alleging in a court filing that the Portland company -- which helped build Wilson's website, SoulPancake -- is guilty of "fraud." Think Brilliant sued Wilson earlier this month.

• Intel unveiled new semiconductor technology for replacing copper connections with lasers for communicating within computers.
  

• Oregon Business magazine profiled the folks behind Starve Ups, Nedspace, SAO and other organizations working to promote tech entrepreneurship in Portland.

• The Mail Tribune in Medford profiled Maddox Visual Products' new equipment for 3-D product photography.
  

EARNINGS
Oregon companies grew sales and profits last quarter but their outlooks weren't as robust as investors expected.

• RadiSys is profitable again, but its shares slid following an analyst downgrade.

• TriQuint's growth continued, just a tad cooler. Shares slid 5 percent on the news.

• ESI's profit margins slipped, and its stock dipped 20 percent.

• Planar returned to profitability.
  

• Pixelworks' revenue is up.
  

NOTED AND NOTABLE

• Portland's Giftango signed up 35 national brands for its virtual gift cards. The company's clients include Amazon, Lowe's and Nike. More from the Silicon Florist.

• Intel's Genevieve Bell, a Hillsboro researcher recently named head of a new research group, is also one of Always On's Top 25 Women in Tech to Watch and among FastCompany's 100 Most Creative People in Business. (I believe she's the only Oregonian on either list.)

• But another AlwaysOn list, the AlwaysOn Global 250, includes Portland's Second Porch.
  

• Former Intel exec Mark Christensen has joined the board of Virtensys, the British data center company with substantial operations in Beaverton.
  

ON MY CALENDAR 

• OEN's Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards dinner is Sept. 22 in the downtown Hilton.
  

• OEN's annual Venture Northwest forum is Nov. 4 at the Governor Hotel in Portland.

• For a more complete list of Portland tech events, visit Calagator.
  

What did I miss? Lemme know (or send me a tweet).

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July 30th, 2010

With 70 percent of her clients children, the owner of the Tulen Center martial arts studio decides to locate two miles away from the shimmying women of Pussycats.

WEST SLOPE -- The nearly naked women didn't work Canyon Road when Silvia Smart opened her martial arts studio five years ago.

No twirling signs offering lap dances. No swimming pool filled with splashing sex appeal. No bare breasts.

Smart says the spectacles coincide with last summer's arrival of two adult businesses, Pussycats and Vegas VIP Room, which operate in separate buildings on the same block. One year later, Smart has had enough.

With Oregon's expansive free speech laws offering little legal recourse, Smart and at least one other mainstream entrepreneur have decided to control what they can -- their own business interests -- by packing up and moving out.

"I really believe spaces have energy. We put a lot of love into it here," Smart said one afternoon last week, standing inside the Tulen Center's  West Slope studio, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We'll take that with us."

The departure from the 10000 block of Southwest Canyon Road began two days later, when Smart and others made a ceremonial 2-mile walk to a new location on Southwest Scholls Ferry Road. In August, nearby business Sameday Auto Scratch & Dent Repair plans to move a mile and half west, away from the adult-themed neighborhood that also includes Hotties strip club.

To be clear, neither the Tulen Center nor the repair shop are moving strictly because of the adult businesses. But representatives say the neighbors are a big part of their decisions.

They say it's what happens on the outside of the buildings -- not inside -- that causes them grief.

Ben Taylor, who manages the repair shop, recalls women splashing around in a parking-lot swimming pool in front of Pussycats. They'd carry provocative signs. Trash would pile up along the building.

"When I give directions, I have to tell people I'm between Hotties and Pussycats," he says. "The last thing a family wants to do, they pull in to get an estimate, and the little kids are staring at the neighbors."

Oregon's Constitution provides greater protections for free speech and expression than those found in the U.S. Constitution. Nude dancing, adult bookstores -- even live sex shows -- are protected through the free-speech clause. Voters have repeatedly shot down attempts to change the law.

Frustrations about what some consider a proliferation of clubs, and a lack of regulation, spilled over during a community meeting in July.

Washington County Commissioner Desari Strader attended and said she is drafting ordinances that could help authorities deal with peripheral problems. One would require that all businesses in unincorporated Washington County be licensed by the county. The other would place restrictions on public urination.

Strader said she visited Pussycats to gauge the issue and was greeted by woman in a hallway who looked barely 18, wore little clothing and quoted her prices for a closed door, private session.

Messages left by The Oregonian for the owners at Pussycats and Vegas VIP Room were not returned.

In the past year, police have responded to the neighborhood more than 40 times, ranging from police-initiated premises checks to complaints about indecent exposure. Authorities say they've made one arrest, for drunken driving.

"It's a very difficult thing to try and actually prove illegal activity, that we all suspect is going on, is actually going on," says Sgt. Bob Ray, a spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

Smart, owner of the martial arts studio, called police in March. She complained about women shimmying in the street. She wanted to know what could be done.

Smart says there have been other issues.

She says one of her students told her about an alleged drug deal in front of the studio. Another time, Smart says, a woman walked by and flashed her bare breasts at Smart's husband, Jeff Denson. Yet another time, Smart says, a woman walked by and rubbed her breasts against the glass in front of a student.

Smart says she has about 100 monthly members, roughly 70 of them children. She had planned to stay when her lease expired this summer. But ultimately, she decided, moving would be better for business.

"I can't tell you the relief of just not having to deal with them anymore," she says.

There's more relief, too.

Smart negotiated a clause into her new lease: The landlord of the six-tenant building promises adult businesses won't be welcome.

-- Brad Schmidt

 

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July 29th, 2010

The Portland shopping center has filed paperwork that roughly outlines a plan to tear down most of the mall and replace it with new storefronts.

Jantzen Beach, the onetime amusement park and now struggling shopping mall, is bracing for a another sudden change in direction.

The managers of the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter have filed paperwork with the City of Portland that roughly outlines a plan to tear down most of the mall and replace it with new storefronts.

They plan to meet Tuesday with city representatives to discuss a more complete plan.

The mall would be replaced with 120,980 square feet of retail space, including a 65,000-square-foot grocery store, according to preliminary plans. A138,760-square-foot Target store along North Hayden Island Drive would replace the existing location inside the mall.

The retail center would allow a road through the property in accordance with the Hayden Island Plan, which calls for Tomahawk Island Drive to become the island's "Main Street."

The redevelopment would make retail space easier to lease, said Sam Judd, vice president of investments for Edens & Avant, which manages the property. Many of the SuperCenter's storefronts are now vacant .

"You've got an old mall," Judd said. "It's old, the systems are old, and there's a lot of inefficient space in the mall. It's never going to compete with the Lloyd Center or the Westfield in Washington."

The plan also includes three 6,000-square-foot restaurant spaces on the perimeter of the site, and the existing Burlington Coat Factory would stay.

If all goes well, Judd said, construction will start in 2011 with the demolition of the buildings that house Barnes & Noble and vacant restaurant space on the north end of the site.

Edens & Avant is also in talks with Ross clothing store and Barnes & Noble to stay in the shopping center. Other retailers would likely be new, although the company will talk to current tenants about opening shop in the new space, Judd said.

With Columbia River Crossing plans still in flux -- and with it, the roadway structure on the island -- Edens & Avant may be trying to hit a moving target, said Corky Collier, executive director of the Columbia Corridor Association. The business district has part of the crossing discussions.

By taking on the major project, Collier said, the developers are indicating they're willing to work to make the project a success.

"If I hear that the owners are looking at making that big of a redevelopment, the message that comes to me is that they're committed to it," Collier said. "They're going to sink a lot into bringing it home. And that's a good thing."

Judd declined to put a cost on the project, saying it was too early to tell.

The Hayden Island Plan, which was adopted by the Portland City Council in August, calls for a neighborhood-like shopping and residential district west near the SuperCenter site, but Judd said there wouldn't be enough demand until a new MAX Yellow Line light-rail stop is completed as part of the Columbia River Crossing project.

In the meantime, the company will leave the parking lots and retail space west of the mall as they are now.

Jantzen Beach opened in 1928 as an amusement park that included a carousel that still resides in the mall, and its future is uncertain. There isn't a space for it in the new shopping center, but Judd said his company is working on a plan.

"We don't have any specific plans yet that I can talk about," he said. "We are definitely thinking about the carousel. We recognize the history, so we'd like to do something with that."

--Elliot Njus 

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