91视频

This month we look back at events of August 1989, when Riedel Environmental Technologies agreed to a $155 million deal with the Metropolitan Service District to construct and operate a waste composting facility and Donald M. Drake Co. of Portland performed excavation for OHSU鈥檚 Biomedical Information Communication Center.

Aug. 1, 1989
Land deal clears way for shopping center
Standard Insurance Co. and Pan Pacific Development Corp. of Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday finalized a purchase agreement for 20 acres near Tanasbourne Mall, clearing the way for construction of a large community shopping center.

Under terms of the agreement, Pan Pacific acquired 20 acres at the northwest corner of Northwest 185th Avenue and Cornell Road, as well as a 50-percent interest in Tanasbourne Mall.

The purchase price was $10.6 million.

Construction of a 220,000-square-foot shopping center on the 20-acre parcel is expected to begin in mid-September, said Wayne Atteberry, Standard Insurance vice president of real estate finance.
A contractor has not yet been selected for the project, which is expected to be finished by the fall of 1990.

Aug. 4, 1989
Illinois firm buys Reddaway
An Illinois-based trucking company has purchased Reddaway Truck Lines, with intentions of expanding the Portland-based trucking carrier.

TNT North America Inc. purchased all of Reddaway鈥檚 stock, pending approval by state regulatory authorities. The friendly buyout of the privately held company will enable Reddaway to upgrade and expand its equipment and facilities. Reddaway officials say new truck facilities are planned in Seattle and Fresno, Calif., as well as expansion of Portland corporate offices and the Sacramento, Calif., facility in 1990.

Reddaway employs more than 600 people and provides trucking services in Oregon, Washington and California. The company offers same-day, overnight and two-day service through a network of 16 terminals.

Aug. 11, 1989
OHSU officials launch BICC
Sen. Mark Hatfield and Oregon Health Sciences University officials on Thursday ushered in what they called the new generation of medical information storage and dissemination 鈥� the Biomedical Information Communication Center.

The university and AT&T also announced a strategic partnership worth $1 million to the university.
The under-construction BICC is a $14.5 million facility scheduled for completion in May 1991.
Dr. Peter Kohler, OHSU president, said Donald M. Drake Co. of Portland is currently doing excavation work, which should be completed by December.

A contractor for the actual construction of the building has not been selected, he added. The university expects to bid that second phase of construction within the next couple of months, Kohler said.

The five-story, 79,000-square-foot BICC building will be located on Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road adjacent to the university鈥檚 physical plant.

Along with some 60,000 books, the BICC will house computers and telecommunications systems, all designed to give medical researchers and practitioners access to the latest information and technology available.

Patrick Kearney, vice president of AT&T鈥檚 western region systems group, said the company is donating $1 million worth of data networking technology and equipment to the university as part of an ongoing relationship.

Aug. 14, 1989
Riedel-Tokola meet deadline for bridge project

Riedel International Inc. and Tokola Corp. met their deadline. Jack McIsaac, spokesman for Riedel, said the Riedel-Tokola joint venture finished installing a lift span on the Burlington Northern Bridge in time to meet the 8 a.m. Friday morning deadline.

By 6 a.m. on Friday, small ships that could pass under the bridge without it being raised were allowed to proceed, McIsaac said.

Riedel and Tokola鈥檚 $28 million construction contract with the U.S. Coast Guard received more attention than most construction jobs because the partnership faced stiff fines, up to $64,000 per day, if the work was not completed within 72 hours.

McIsaac said the project went smoothly for the most part, but some aspects of the job took longer than anticipated.

Using floating drydock sections, the companies removed and floated away the bridge鈥檚 old center swing span and floated into place and installed a 516-foot, 3,300-ton lift span.

Aug. 18, 1989
Metro, Riedel pact brings new technology to U.S.
Riedel Environmental Technologies Inc. will be up to its neck in solid waste in about two years 鈥� which is just where it wants to be.

The Portland-based company this week signed a 20-year, $155 million contract with the Metropolitan Service District to build and operate a state-of-the-art waste composting facility at 5437 N.E. Columbia Blvd.

Wednesday afternoon鈥檚 signing of the contract culminated Metro鈥檚 three-year search for a company to operate a recycling facility in the Portland area.

The facility will be built on 18 acres and will employ about 15 people on-site, said Jack Reece, president of Riedel Environmental Technologies.

Construction of the facility is expected to cost almost $20 million, he added. The contract amount includes expected revenues from tipping fees 鈥� the fee landfills and recyclers charge garbage haulers 鈥� over the life of the contract, Reece said.

Joseph McGuinn, Riedel chief financial officer, said Riedel will finance 18 percent of the project through company equity and the remainder will come from a Metro issuance of tax-exempt bonds.

Those bonds will be paid off over 20 years through proceeds from the project and are guaranteed by a letter of credit from Credit Suisse, a AAA-rated bank in Zurich, Switzerland.

Riedel said the site has been cleared, and construction will start immediately. Drake Construction Co. of Portland is the general contractor and Riedel will oversee the project.

鈥�91视频 Archives鈥� is a collection of excerpts from past issues of the 91视频 that runs the third Tuesday of each month. Article excerpts are reprinted exactly as they appeared at the time of publication. Share your own memories of Portland鈥檚 built history by contacting Theresa McKinlay at [email protected].