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The proposed Rivers mall may not be built in Oregon City. But its developer already is looking at other Portland-metro areas that could suit retailers previously courted for the project.

Fred Bruning and his company, CenterCal Properties, the development firm responsible for Cascade Station and Bridgeport Village, pulled out of the proposed $200 million Rivers mall project earlier this summer, citing a 鈥渢oxic political environment鈥� in Oregon City. But that suburb’s loss could be another’s gain.

鈥淲e’re currently looking at a specific site in Washington County and an area in Clackamas County 鈥� more specifically, Milwaukie,鈥� Bruning said. 鈥淓very site is unique, so they would definitely be different animals than the Rivers project, but there might be some of the proposed tenants.

鈥淲e’d identified 550,000 square feet of tenants at the Rivers. So, that’s a lot of retail looking for space in the area.鈥�

The most notable retailer that had planned to open a store in the Rivers mall is Cabela’s, which was going to be the anchor tenant. Bruning said he doesn’t have an exclusive contract with Cabela’s, but he expressed confidence that the hunting and fishing gear retailer has strong interest in the Portland-metro area and in leasing space in one of CenterCal’s developments.

Cabela’s officials won’t comment on the possibility of it occupying one of CenterCal’s properties because there is no official plan in place yet.

Points east and west

The first location Bruning said he is looking at is in Milwaukie’s north industrial area, 265 acres zoned for manufacturing-type businesses. Although he said he doesn’t have a specific site in mind yet, he added that he is intrigued with the area. With 60 businesses already located within its boundaries, the area will be served by the future Portland-to-Milwaukie light-rail line. Also, talks have arisen about the possibility of building a minor league baseball stadium in the area.

Bruning said he hasn’t discussed any specific projects with the city of Milwaukie, but that potential developments would require between 30 and 60 acres. But he wouldn’t go forward with any plans without making sure a project was fully supported by city officials and Milwaukie residents, he said. In Oregon City, councilors couldn’t agree to use urban renewal money to help pay for the Rivers.

Bruning was slightly less forthcoming about the second site he’s eyeing. He said only that it is in Washington County, and that he and company officials are working on early due diligence.

Colin Cooper, planning manager with the city of Hillsboro, said he hasn’t talked to Bruning about any potential project there.

The city of Beaverton has an area in its proposed 997-acre urban renewal area that is similar to Milwaukie’s north industrial area. But Don Mazziotti, the city’s community and economic development director, would neither confirm nor deny whether Bruning is looking at building a project in Beaverton.

鈥淚f we did have a discussion, it would have been done in a private setting,鈥� Mazziotti said. 鈥淎ll I can say right now is that we don’t have an application or even a pre-application in front of us.鈥�

Rivers mall project talks could be revived in Oregon City, but Bruning said he wasn’t leaning in that direction.

鈥淲ell, the site is still there and there’s obviously a lot of interest from retailers for the site specifically,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut given the current political climate, it won’t be moving forward anytime soon.鈥�