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Minneapolis-based is opening shop in Portland.

The general contractor announced today that it has opened a new permanent office at 610 S.W. Alder St. The office joins 10 other locations that the 58-year-old contractor has around the U.S., Canada and China.

Spurring the move is likely the development of the Oregon Convention Center headquarters hotel. Mortenson Construction is part of the team – along with Mortenson Development, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Schlesinger Cos. and Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects, among others – Metro chose in September to construct a minimum 500-room block hotel serving the convention center.

General manager Jeff Madden, a 16-year employee of Mortenson, will head the Portland office. Some of Madden’s past projects include work on the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the Wisconsin Energy Institute, the University of Colorado Research Complex 2 and the Terascale Simulation Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

Jim Yowan, Mortenson’s vice president, said the new office strengthens the company’s commitment to furthering economic development in Portland. Founded in 1954, Mortenson also has U.S. offices in Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Madison, Wis., Phoenix and Seattle.