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The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde last week began the third phase of demolition at its 23-acre property, recently named Tumwata Village, in Oregon City. Multiple structures will be razed during the next four to five months.

The site had been home to the Blue Heron paper mill for years until the business closed in 2011. Grand Ronde acquired the property, part of its ancestral homelands, in 2019. The Tribe unveiled the site’s new name last year.

All structures are located on the northwestern section of the property, close to downtown Oregon City. Among the buildings scheduled for demolition are two that housed paper machines 鈥� Mill D and one known as the 鈥淏utler Building.鈥�

Phase one of demolition took place in 2021, and phase two followed in 2022. This phase won’t be the last; the Tribe anticipates additional demolition will be necessary to achieve its full vision for the site. That includes environmental and cultural restoration as well as thoughtful new development and creation of public access to Willamette Falls.

Since purchasing the property in August 2019, the Tribe has started environmental remediation (August 2019), unveiled its vision for the site (March 2021), launched demolition (September 2021), and secured support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (May 2021) as well as $2 million for infrastructure improvements from Congress (October 2021).