Jobs for construction, high-tech companies and consumer electronics are all . Though it’s great to know work is out there, traffic can be aggravating in this city during the building seasons.

CommutePays may be a happy answer for this. This free mobile app, which launched in January, is gaining a lot of ground, and it benefits users by tracking traffic data along specified routes. Smartphones provide timely updates on specific routes and identify potential delays before the user hits the road.

In addition to making the drive easier to work, home, school, yoga, coffee or wherever else in Portland, users earn virtual currency called CommuterCash. The accomplishment-based system rewards users with local deals, offers, and promotions along their route on everything from cups of coffee to techie gear to automotive services.

Contractors have a unique connection here, because they can easily update traffic info on the app. If they are going to cause road closures or delays, they can enter it via the app — not to mention using it to avoid getting caught in traffic on their way to a job site. Local contractors and business partners are encouraged to update traffic info, and they accrue CommuterCash as they use the app, just as with all users.

The CommutePays app is a free download in the App Store (iPhone) and in Android Market. Learn more about the commute-killing, virtual-cash-earning app at the or by downloading the app.

Image courtesy of Mark Peden, CommutePays CDO

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2011 was a busy year for sustainable construction, with plenty of momentum being carried into next year. A key project includes the construction of the ‘s renewable structure, a future centerpiece to Portland State University’s ever-expanding hub of green activity.

The OSC building underwent a design feasibility study in 2008, with construction expected to break ground in the third quarter of 2012. The target completion date for this structure is the end of 2013, with the 130,000-square-foot building’s costs cited at just over $60 million.

The building gets attention for its proposed triple-net-zero functionality. Urban design students aside, that fancy phrase means it will produce heat and energy for itself while not using external water sources or generating waste.

This lofty idea was scaled back from more than $100 million in scope to its current form, which will receive some state funding and rely on tenants paying high rent to recoup its costs, in addition to being marketed as having much lower long-term costs than a non-sustainable counterpart. It’s very forward thinking and certainly raises the already high green profile of Portland and PSU…assuming that it gets finished on time and on budget. Expect plenty of updates through 2012 on this beacon of building efficiency—not to mention even more construction on the eastern fringe of the PSU campus, where the , and forthcoming College Station housing building have spelled nearly five years of ongoing construction along that corridor.

Another project of note is the soon-to-be-completed Norm Apartments in Northwest, featuring a dozen units and several eco-friendly aspects as part of the property portfolio of WDC Properties. Construction is expected to wrap up at the end of this year, and the building is up for sale in Portland’s competitive multi-family housing market that boasts just a as of November 2011.

The in Southwest Portland earned awards for its timber frame and the thermal efficiency of the project. McMinnville-based seeks to build on its success as the project’s contributor of reclaimed wood. As of December 2011, it has restored over 20 million board feet of lumber that would otherwise have been junked.

Rendering courtesy of SERA Architects

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Construction of a bridge across the Willamette River is under way, with concrete now being poured for pillars on the first new cross-river bridge in four decades. The work is part of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail project, now a year into its development.

That year has seen get prepared, and the pile of paperwork is about to grow some more. A was filed on behalf of Clackamas County residents by project opponent Jim Knapp, who says the county’s $25 million project commitment lacks public input.

The new 7.3-mile light rail is expected to open in September 2015, with a project cost of about $1.5 billion. Clackamas County’s $25 million share represents under 2 percent of the total costs in TriMet’s long-term plan to connect the western edge of Milwaukie, which is just east of the river, with the Portland State University campus on the west side and the MAX Green and Yellow lines.

The petition is undergoing official review, and organizers need about 9,400 signatures on the petition in order to place a measure on the May 2012 ballot. The group behind the petition was able to place a ballot measure in May 2011 that  that broke ground earlier this month.

Clackamas County voters withheld $22 million in funding for the Sellwood Bridge Project when they voted against the petition-powered ballot measure in May 2011. TIGER III grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation have recovered most of that funding, though it is unclear how TriMet will resolve funding issues if Clackamas voters vote against their portion of the light rail funding.

TriMet anticipates being created due to the light rail. By 2030, the company anticipates about 23,000 riders daily on the light rail and 100,000 jobs along its corridor.

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A was announced on Tuesday, as was the Oregon Employment Department’s expectation of an  during the next decade.

is currently accepting loan applications for any sole proprietor, partnership or corporation seeking to boost the state’s economic standing and create local jobs.

Business Oregon reported the state’s GDP in 2010 to be $174.2 billion and its average wage $44,426. Education and health services are projected by OED to have the largest jump of 30 percent by 2020, with construction a close second at 27 percent. That’s a growth from the current figure of 67,500 jobs statewide for the construction industry to more than 86,000 over the next decade.

Government jobs, according to the OED forecast, will see the most modest improvement among industries included in the report, with a 7 percent increase, though the actual figure of new employees will be 22,400. The only fields expected to decrease are among the print publishing and paper manufacturing industries, with each losing less than 1,000 jobs per the OED report.

The state-level perks are clear: More people creating more jobs and making more money means less deficit and lower unemployment. That’s a mighty simplification of state economics, but resources regarding the details of how to start and manage small business are plentiful, with the at the federal level, Business Oregon at the state level, and various county and city offices open at the local level.

The is available to help those interested in getting a piece of the $16.5 million pie.

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There are multiple projects in play among the Pearl District, among them a low-income housing building in its final stages and a new long-term-stay hotel. Of the during the coming decade, one can anticipate an increase among residents in the Pearl, a cultural and commercial hub of Portland, which itself is a cultural and commercial hub for the state.

The Yards at Union Station will provide low-cost, income-restricted options for new residents with Section 8 housing qualification. Meanwhile, the new Residence Inn at Northwest Marshall Street and Ninth Avenue offers those just testing the water an affordable option, as well as transitional housing for job relocation.

Take these developments as good signs for the area, signs that the Portland economy is indeed recovering after its . Tack on the reported—among the nation’s lowest for metro areas—and the City of Roses is, well, coming up roses.

Also, consider the 2181 NW Nicolai St. transformation: Pearl companies are making use of the century-old space, from letterpress group to . Additionally, the U.S. Customs House on is up for auction as of Dec. 1 and could be a big project if any buyer would be able to afford it.

So additional future work is expected in the Pearl as the dust of the recession is brushed off and room is made for new residents.

Photo courtesy of Werewombat via

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The Pearl District is a popular destination for new residents, with several low-income housing buildings and construction going on throughout the calendar. However, a , as Denver-based Simpson Housing opted out of the project given current rental rate averages for the Pearl.

Spencer Welton, Simpson’s SVP of development, said the reported average rent of $1.34 per square foot per month was too far below their target rate of $2.25. He said his initial interest in developing a building in Portland was high, though a feasibility study showed that the developer would not see a return on investment strong enough to move forward.

Think about that for a moment. Assuming $1.34, a tenant would pay $670 per month before utilities for 500 square feet, a typical size for a studio with a bathroom, walk-in closet and kitchen. Figure $750 after utilities, and the tenant is paying $9,000 per year for what amounts to a large dorm room. (A furnished  of comparable size would cost about $11,000 year-round, in case you were wondering.) Assume $2.25, and those 500 square feet cost closer to $15,000 annually.

Now, is Simpson greedy for balking at $1.34? Hardly. If $2.25 is what they expect in order to develop a high-end residential tower — a look shows a classy standard, indeed — they’re smart to walk away from the 91-cent difference between current rates and their expected rates.

Simpson’s reticence to build in the area is not universal, however. Developers such as and are plenty busy regardless of the rent averages, and there are  being reported as of October 2011, along with just 4 percent vacancy citywide.

Photo courtesy of via Wikipedia

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The costs and project deadlines of construction work take most of the headlines, while the sustainability peg usually focuses on LEED certification and such features as solar panels or water waste management. The topic of just how much gets wasted among reusable materials, however, is catching more attention following a .

The story looks at Clean Away Disposal, a company that provides waste removal services to job sites and puts to use materials, from drywall to rebar, that would otherwise be junked. In Portland, the keeps an eye on unnecessary waste among construction work, and its website has various resources to help local general and sub-contractors find a use for good material that would otherwise hit a landfill.

The report mentions an unnamed, 5,000-square-foot restaurant that “yielded 12,344 pounds of waste, including 7,440 pounds of wood, 1,414 pounds of cardboard, and 500 pounds of gypsum wallboard” in illustrating the point that about half of building and demo debris is still usable after the job ends. Earlier this week, an , and that will include a rise in the number of companies dedicated to the salvage, reuse and conservation of materials.

The for these services is respectable, and there is always talk of how to stay ahead of the green curve amid the City of Roses. One has to wonder what the impact of this trend will be for, say, the Columbia River Crossing, which from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood regarding its environmental impact.

More information about construction waste management in Portland may be found , which was penned with the assistance of Portland and Seattle city agencies.

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is an industry leader for the engineering, design and implementation of robotics, and the Virginia-based company . The relocation was announced at the end of November, and Intellibot will maintain offices in Phoenix and Pittsburgh as well as a manufacturing facility in Richmond, Va.

Intellibot makes those handy floor-cleaning bots, and they do so with a company size of about 30 employees. The relocation to Portland will spell opportunity among engineering students at local programs, such as the at Portland State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology’s .

Robots are a popular topic in Portland, and engineering students across the state get involved each year with the , some as early as kindergarten. among a statewide competition earlier this year, as part of a friendly .

This influx of robotics interest means two things. First, prepare yourself for a Jetsons-like reality just around the corner. Second, and more likely, is that the number of local electrical engineering jobs are likely to increase as this sector of the high-tech industry migrates to the City of Roses.

Intellibot’s relocation comes on the heels of a which pits high school squads of young women against one another in robotics challenges early in November. These events serve as networking opportunities for professionals in the field to highlight futures in electrical engineering and robotics, as well as to help identify programs for training in these fields.

To learn more about Portland robot news, networks and events, visit the , or PARTS, to keep a finger on the electric pulse.

Photo courtesy of via Wiki Commons

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The Morrison Bridge, which was closed all summer, will . Construction has been halted to allow for the lane openings, though it will resume during the first week of January.

The lanes open today, while foot and cycle access has already started. TriMet‘s Bus Line 15 has been rerouted to the Hawthorne Bridge during the closure and will continue to use this alternate path to cross the Willamette River until construction is complete.

The multi-use paths on the north and south sides have during the construction, not to mention the massive extension of this steel grating replacement job . The bike lanes will remain open once the work restarts in 2012, but that glimpse of optimism was announced alongside news that the job is .

When the project began, the targeted completion date was November 2011. This $4.2 million project now has an unspecified spring 2011 delivery date, while total associated costs to updating the 53-year-old bridge have ballooned due to legal issues and delays.

The county and contractor have , making for an ugly situation out of what should have been a simple updating of one of the city’s most-traveled river crossings. The traditional construction moratorium between Thanksgiving and Christmas day that is upheld by the Portland Bureau of Transportation may have closed the window on wrapping up the Morrison Bridge project, or .

All things considered, the additional lanes during the holidays will help tens of thousands of commuters cross the Willamette. The best answer would have been the project getting delivered on time, but what Portland resident expects that?

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Tuesday marked the start of a four-week TriMet project that will end in a wall of solar panel modules to power the MAX Green Line. The construction is taking place at Southwest Jackson Street, where the South Terminus is located and near the site of Portland State University’s forthcoming College Station.

This marks TriMet’s first effort to harness energy from the sun in powering the county-spanning rail system, and according to the , the agency anticipates savings of $3,680 per year once the 253 modules are installed. The project is budgeted at $370,600, with the money coming form leftover Green Line funds and contributions from Portland General Electric and the Energy Trust of Oregon.

Whoa, whoa…back the truck up. It has been some time since first-grade math, but let’s see here … carry the zero … yup, that works out to about 100 years of savings (assuming $3,680 is the total savings amount every year for the full century) to recoup the initial investment of $370K. That length of time about halves with energy tax credits, but this is still taking “long-term investment” a bit far.

According to U.S. News and World Report, Portland is among the. Bringing solar energy into the mix is a game changer, to be sure, especially as PDX residents turn more to bus, light-rail and streetcar use instead of driving. Bear in mind, however, that this sort of expenditure runs parallel with the and a .

There are additional low-energy-use plans for the South Terminus, according to the press release, though it is unclear what financial impact those will have (they focus on lighting and storm water management). One can only hope there are additional plans to justify the costs of the solar panels and that riders experience that justification.

Or, to state it simply, let’s hope the sun makes the fares go down.

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