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The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has completed its purchase of the Blue Heron Paper Co. mill site in Oregon City from Washington developer George Heidgerken.

The transaction places the retired Oregon City mill site in the hands of the tribal government, whose members have deep ties to Willamette Falls. The falls were a fishing and gathering site for American Indians for centuries until they were forcibly removed following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855.

鈥淭his is a historic day for the聽Grand聽Ronde聽Tribe and our people,鈥� Cheryle A. Kennedy, chairwoman for Grand聽Ronde tribe, stated in a news release. 鈥淪ince 1855 the government has worked to disconnect our people from our homelands. Today, we’re reclaiming a piece of those lands and resurrecting our role as caretakers to Willamette Falls 鈥� a responsibility left to us by our ancestors.鈥�

The Confederated Tribes declined to release terms of the deal, which closed Thursday.

When the Confederated Tribes’ preliminary agreement to purchase the property was revealed in June, Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy said some type of mixed-use development was likely at the Blue Heron site. She also said the tribal government has no intention of building a casino there.

Environmental clean-up and demolition must occur at the site before any development can happen, said Sara Thompson, deputy press secretary for the tribal government. 鈥淚t’s going to take some time,鈥� she said.

The tribal government recently completed a fishing platform at Willamette Falls.

Heidgerken, who is based in Tacoma, Washington, purchased the 23-acre mill property in 2014. He had battled public agencies regarding the site’s future before eventually agreeing to let planning proceed.

Metro, Clackamas County, the city of Oregon City and Oregon State Parks have been engaged in the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, a planning effort to guide future development and ensure public access to the waterfall.