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The owner of the former Blue Heron Paper Co. site in Oregon City and Portland General Electric officials have signed agreements with Metro that will allow the construction of a public path through their adjoining properties.

Metro is partnering with the city of Oregon City, Clackamas County and the state of Oregon to build the estimated $30 million riverwalk. The path for pedestrians and bicyclists along the Willamette River through PGE property and the Blue Heron site, will give the public access to nearby Willamette Falls for the first time in decades.

The project has been hailed by Oregon City officials as the first step toward revitalization of the Blue Heron site, which has been vacant since 2011, when the paper mill shut down.

The Metro Council on Thursday unanimously approved entering into agreements signed by Blue Heron site owner George Heidgerken, a Tacoma, Wash.-based developer, and PGE officials so the riverwalk project can move forward, Metro spokeswoman Yuxing Zheng said. The agreements will be signed by Metro officials on Monday once all portions of the documents have been finalized, she said.

The agreement with Heidgerken secures a 120-foot riverfront easement for the path. He also committed to pay for 20 percent of the design and preliminary engineering expenses for the project, estimated at $900,000, and at least 20 percent of future maintenance and operations costs for the riverwalk.

PGE officials agreed to allow the path to be built across a portion of the utility company’s dam along Willamette Falls to an area with a prime view of the falls.

Metro officials are currently working on a request for proposals seeking design and engineering services for the project. The RFP is scheduled to be released early next year, Zheng said. A design and engineering team should be hired by late spring 2015 and are expected to take 18 months to develop project plans, she said.

About $10 million has been secured for the first phase of construction from Metro and other project partners, Zheng said.
Last year, the Oregon Legislature approved $5 million in lottery-backed bonds being spent on the path.