The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is embarking on a second round of demolition near Willamette Falls that will bring down four buildings and open the former industrial site to views from downtown Oregon City for the first time in decades.

Elder Demolition of Portland is preparing to tackle the latest work at the ex-Blue Heron paper mill. The next building to be taken down in the upcoming phase will be highly visible: the water filtration plant that once treated fluid used in the paper milling process before discharging the effluent into the Willamette River.

“It’s a relatively large structure, so it will take around three to four weeks to take down,” said Ryan Webb, engineering and planning manager for the Grand Ronde.

The structure includes several large water basins that will require demolition.

The absence of the water filtration plant will allow better views of the falls from Oregon City and Oregon Route 99E.

The entire second phase of demolition will take seven to eight weeks, according to the tribe. The Grand Ronde has secured demolition permits from the city of Oregon City, and is working with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on remediation.

Remediation work is ongoing, Webb said. Crews in the second phase will take the structures down to the grade level but will not disturb any subsurface contaminants. Workers are still investigating the site to determine the amount of environmental remediation that will be necessary.

The demolition work will have no traffic impacts, Webb said.

“That is one of the perks of this site,” he said. “It’s a large site. There are no public streets in it. … All of the work is contained within the site.”

More demolition is likely to follow as site planners decide which buildings should be leveled, Webb said.

The Blue Heron Paper Co. ceased operations at the site in 2011. In August 2019, the Grand Ronde acquired the 23-acre property from Tacoma, Washington, developer George Heidgerken. A fire damaged some structures in December 2020; they were removed during the first round of demolition. In March, the Grand Ronde pulled out of the intergovernmental Willamette Falls Legacy Trust process, saying other tribes and local governments were needlessly slowing the project.

Now the tribe is preparing the site for future development, with public access and some commercial space planned. Walker Macy and GBD Architects are engaged on the project.

“We’re just always excited to keep cleaning this site up,” Webb said.

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An architectural study of land near Willamette Falls that was commissioned by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde found potential for mixed-use commercial development along with cultural gathering places and ecological restoration.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have expressed interest in reconnecting tribal members with the falls and restoring natural habitat. Yet the 23-acre property that fronts downtown Oregon City has long been regarded as also holding commercial value.

Potential development could include office, hospitality, institutional or educational spaces, along with tribal spaces, public gathering spots, restaurants, retail and a long-imagined riverwalk, according to the tribal group.

“Acquiring the property at Willamette Falls let us reclaim part of our history and allowed us to once again become stewards of the land and the falls,” Cheryle A. Kennedy, chairwoman of the Confederated Tribes, stated in a news release. “Now, we head into the future with a vision for this land that helps heal it and revitalize it while telling our story and sharing our history.”

The group purchased the former Blue Heron Paper Mill property from Washington developer George Heidgerken in August 2019. The defunct mill suffered major damage in a December 2020 fire.

The study, first reported by KGW, envisions both an “urban, city-like setting” set back from the water and a “more natural, restored environment” at the river’s edge. Improvements may include beneficial salmon habitat, restored off-channel alcoves and restored topography of the falls itself.

“In the northern portion of the site, closer to downtown Oregon City and above the flood zone, there is relatively modest benefit of landscape restoration,” architecture firms GBD Architects and Walker Macy stated in the visioning study. “This area appears to have good potential for mixed-use development that can visually and physically connect to restore landscape areas along the river.”

Tribal officials said any new development would reflect the story of the Confederated Tribes and its historical and cultural ties to Willamette Falls.

Since acquiring the property, the tribal group has worked with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to remediate environmental degradation at the site. The group expects to soon begin a master planning process.

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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.

“This is a historic day for the Grand Ronde Tribe and our people,” Cheryle A. Kennedy, chairwoman for Grand Ronde tribe, stated in a news release. “Since 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 – a responsibility left to us by our ancestors.”

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. “It’s going to take some time,” 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.

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The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has reached a preliminary agreement to purchase the former Blue Heron Paper Co. mill site in Oregon City, a tribal leader said Thursday.

The tribe has signed a purchase and sale agreement with George Heidgerken, the Tacoma, Washington-based investor who owns the property, Grand Ronde Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy said.

Council members on Wednesday discussed a supplemental budget item to fund the purchase, but did not take a vote.

“We are currently in a due diligence process, which is expected to take some time given the complexities of the site,” Grand Ronde spokeswoman Sara Thompson said. “The Tribal Council is expected to make a final decision when that has been completed.”

The tribe does not intend to build a casino at the Blue Heron site, Kennedy said. There is “no plan like that whatsoever,” she said. The tribe will continue to invest in its Spirit Mountain Casino, she said.

Commercial development is a leading possibility for the ex-paper mill site, Kennedy said.

“It’ll eventually probably be mixed-use,” Kennedy said. “We want to continue to communicate with all of our partners and come up with the best use for the property.”

Heidgerken purchased the 23-acre property in 2014. He would not confirm the purchase and sale agreement with the Grand Ronde tribe, but said he’s pleased to work with a buyer who will make something happen on the site.

“I want (purchasers) who want to be there the best,” he said. “If that’s the tribe, great – I’m all for it. It’s really up to them to be the guiding light if they want to do it.”

Heidgerken praised the tribe’s business acumen.

“I do like the way they work and the folks they have running the show,” he said. “They’re good.”

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, particularly the Clackamas, has deep historical ties to Willamette Falls. Tribal members have fished at the site for generations, up to today. The Grand Ronde recently constructed a fishing platform at the site.

“We’re just thrilled that we’re able to consider the purchase of the property because of our cultural connection,” Kennedy said.

The tribe is also weighing the potential purchase of another riverfront parcel, Kennedy said. The parcel has 1.5 miles of river frontage a few miles upstream from the ex-mill site.

Metro is leading a multiagency effort to develop the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, first with a public Riverwalk. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has been involved in stakeholder discussions, along with the Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakima tribes.

“It is our hope and expectation that we would continue to have a good working relationship with Grand Ronde should they purchase the property,” said Brian Moore, Metro’s project manager for the Legacy Project.

Metro has sought a construction manager-general contractor for the Willamette Falls Legacy Project. The agency recently issued a notice of intent to award the contract to Lease Crutcher Lewis.

A Metro parks bond headed for the November ballot will include $20 million for the project.

The Grand Ronde tribe’s interest in purchasing the site was first reported by Willamette Week.

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A coalition of government agencies led by Metro on Monday applied for a construction permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the first stage of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project in a major milestone for the long-gestating public-private development.

The move came after the property’s owner, George Heidgerken, signed permit documents and settled payments he owed to Clackamas County and Oregon City, government officials said, lifting a monthslong impasse between the two sides.

The project had stalled amid Heidgerken’s concerns the agencies were trying to sideline his options for private development at the waterfall site. Then a promising sign came in March, when Heidgerken signed permit applications to allow the project to move forward and signaled he would pay about $280,000 in tax and utility bills.

Those payments have been made.

“He’s completely caught up,” said Tony Konkol, city manager of Oregon City.

The city has received a check from Heidgerken for more than $63,000 to settle a previously unpaid utilities balance, Konkol said.

The Willamette Falls Legacy Project promises to showcase the falls – the second-largest waterfall by volume in the United States – and build a noteworthy attraction that local officials believe could inject economic vitality into downtown Oregon City and remake a defunct industrial site.

“We have this opportunity to really engage with the river again and re-establish multiple blocks of our downtown,” Konkol said. “So we really couldn’t be more excited to get this project going over the next couple of years.”

Heidgerken said the permit application was a positive sign.

“I think everything’s great,” he said Tuesday. “That’s all I’ve got to say – I’m glad they’re moving forward.”

Control of the project has long been an issue dividing Heidgerken and the partner agencies. Heidgerken, a Tacoma, Washington-based developer, swooped in to purchase the property in 2014. The site’s previous tenant, the Blue Heron Paper Co., had ceased operations three years earlier.

Metro partnered with Clackamas County, Oregon City and the state of Oregon for the Willamette Falls Legacy Project. The governments commissioned an ambitious design from international firm Snohetta, along with Mayer/Reed�����Ի���Dialog, for a public river walk. Heidgerken negotiated a public easement for the river walk. But he held out the possibility of developing multifamily buildings and amenities such as restaurants and brewpubs – either by himself or with a partner.

“There’s a whole lot of neat things that fit on that site, and they’ll happen when the right players step up to do them,” Heidgerken said Tuesday.

Heidgerken earlier rejected a purchase offer from the government agencies. Now the two sides are proceeding with an uneasy partnership that would allow the river walk to proceed while he controls the rest of the 22-acre site.

“This project is a big and complex project,” said Brian Moore, project manager for Metro. “When the partners elected not to purchase the property and when their (subsequent offer to Heidgerken) was rejected, it put us in a position where we had a partner we didn’t select, but we’re figuring out how to work with him and how to move this forward.”

In a reflection of the increasing optimism for development, the Legacy Project group will host public tours of the site on June 1-2. The tours quickly filled up.

The Section 106 permit, if granted by the Army Corps of Engineers, would allow in-water and above-water work to begin. Moore cautioned it will be about two years before any construction occurs.

“It takes quite some time,” he said. “We’ve got to be patient while we work through this process and we’ll get to construction as soon as we feasibly can.”

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Metro is moving toward approving a master plan for the Willamette Falls Riverwalk, even as the agency and its partners remain at an impasse with the landowner who controls the site.

The Riverwalk is intended to spur further development at the site overlooking the nation’s second-largest waterfall by volume.

The Metro Council heard an update on the master plan Nov. 21. The council agreed to release the plan for public comment.

Metro, along with Clackamas County, Oregon City and the state of Oregon, has identified $19 million to pay for the first phase of development at Willamette Falls. That includes $12.5 million in state lottery bonds allotted by the Legislature, $5 million in Metro bonds, $1.5 million in city, county and landowner contributions and approximately $8 million in private money expected to be raised by 2022.

In the master plan released by Metro, the partner agencies make it a priority to establish a public viewing area for the falls as soon as possible. Snohetta, a design firm based in Oslo, Norway, led the design process.

Access to the site from U.S. Route 99E remains in question. Alex Gilbertson, Metro’s senior parks planner, said the project agencies want to get a design-build firm under contract before determining the best way to provide access to the falls from the highway.

The government agencies and property owner George Heidgerken have offered different visions for the Willamette Falls Legacy Project. Heidgerken complained Metro and partner agencies want to build “a park” at the site. Heidgerken, a Tacoma-based developer who purchased the ex-Blue Heron paper mill site in 2014, said he’s interested in building a hotel, condos, restaurants and other amenities.

Heidgerken agreed to an easement with the government representatives in December 2014. A dispute arose earlier this year, and the government agencies went public with a letter on Sept. 22, 2017, saying Heidgerken would not sign an application for permits from the state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needed to move the project forward. Heidgerken also has not submitted a $200,000 payment that was due in January.

Heidgerken said he was in active discussions with Metro to resolve the impasse.

“Metro has gone way overboard,” he said. “They don’t have the authority they think they do in designing what they want.”

Heidgerken said he was optimistic the two sides would reach an agreement. “We’re at a crossroads with Metro right now, but I think we’ll get that straightened out,” he said.

Brian Moore, Metro’s project manager for Willamette Falls, said he could not discuss the ongoing real-estate negotiation with Heidgerken.

“The partners are very committed to moving the project forward and excited about the future,” Moore said.

Metro Council President Tom Hughes said the council had had no recent updates on the negotiations.

“We hope they have that worked out soon,” he said.

Heidgerken owns the entire 22-acre site, except for Portland General Electric‘s dam. PGE has provided the agencies an easement for the Riverwalk across the top of the dam.

Heidgerken said Willamette Falls could be a special project.

“These projects, if you do them right, they can be real winners,” he said. “And if you don’t, you wish you’d never seen them.”

The master plan is expected to be adopted at a Jan. 4, 2018 Metro Council meeting, and by the City Council of Oregon City shortly thereafter.

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Government agencies backing the Willamette Falls Legacy Project are pressuring property owner George Heidgerken to allow the Riverwalk portion to go forward.

Heidgerken has refused to sign permit applications needed for the project to proceed. He has also declined to make a $200,000 payment that was due in January, according to both sides.

Heidgerken said Metro, which has taken a leadership role in the project, has come forward with park-like designs. Heidgerken has different ideas, proposing a hotel, restaurants, apartments and condos.

“We’re at odds only from the standpoint of they don’t listen to us,” Heidgerken said in an interview Tuesday.

The government agencies publicly released a Sept. 22 letter to Heidgerken detailing the impasse.
The disagreement is already delaying the high-stakes Willamette Falls Legacy Project, and risking its $5 million in state funding.

The $60 million project aims to turn the waterfall – the second-largest by volume in the U.S. – into a destination for locals and visitors and a landmark attraction for Oregon City. For decades, the falls have been blocked by industrial development. Heidgerken, a Tacoma, Washington-based developer, purchased the former Blue Heron paper mill property at a bankruptcy auction.

Metro has joined with Oregon City, Clackamas County and the state to build the project. The partner agencies brought in Snohetta, a major international architecture firm based in Oslo, Norway, to design the Riverwalk.

Heidgerken donated an easement to pave the way for the Riverwalk. He said Metro and the other government agencies have not incorporated his plans for private development into their designs.

“We’re not going to let them cut us out and where we’re going with all of our plans,” Heidgerken said. “They totally ignored us. Being ignored, I took offense to it, because I spent $2.5 million buying it.”

A Metro official said he was perplexed at the impasse. Brian Moore, Metro’s project manager for the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, said the agencies have tried to accommodate Heidgerken’s plans and have repeatedly presented him with updated designs.

“He has identified some concerns with the alignment of the Riverwalk, which we changed in order to accommodate his concerns,” Moore said.

The easement requires Heidgerken to sign off on the designs before work can proceed. Metro is preparing to apply for permits needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other regulators.

Metro’s designs don’t include Heidgerken’s planned developments, Moore said, because it’s not Metro’s job to design his projects. The agency also provided Heidgerken with a $500,000 grant to commission his own design work.

“It’s not our role as public agencies to design his private development,” Moore said. “We did the best we could to design the Riverwalk and provide him flexibility in the future.”

The design advanced by Metro and its partners does not preclude a future hotel or other development, Moore said.

“We offered an agreement to George that would have allowed him to build a hotel or apartment buildings or anything else on or near the Riverwalk whenever he’s ready to build that,” Moore said. “He rejected that.”

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement, the matter may end up in court. The agencies’ letter to Heidgerken says “we are considering all of our options for responsibly moving the project forward,” and asks Heidgerken to “fulfill your obligation” to sign permit applications.

The partner agencies share a commitment to move forward, said Tony Konkol, city manager of Oregon City.

“The partners have been in this together the whole time,” he said. “We speak with one voice.”

Heidgerken made an initial payment to Metro and its partner agencies, but has not made a second $200,000 installment that was due in January.

Heidgerken said he still has hopes for a resolution to the impasse.

“It’s hard to be the player in the pack that says no,” he said. “We’re not saying no to nothing – not at all. All we’re doing is addressing our concerns on that project, because it’s a major project. What we do will affect what goes on there for a long time.”

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A Tacoma, Washington-based developer has agreed to buy a 415-acre former mill site in Gardiner, an unincorporated Douglas County area north of Reedsport.

The buyer is George Heidgerken, through Industrial Harbor USA LLC – an entity registered in Washington.

Heidgerken owns both the former Blue Heron mill site in Oregon City (home of the Willamette Falls Riverwalk project) and a retired Olympia brewery site in Tumwater, Washington, that is also targeted for development.

The seller is International Paper – a publicly traded, Fortune 500 company based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company closed the paper mill and sawmill in 1998 after decades of service.

“We can confirm that terms of an agreement have been reached and we hope to close on the deal within the next several months,” International Paper spokesman Tom Ryan said in an email Friday.

The sale is in escrow, and scheduled to close in the next “couple of weeks,” said Tom Vaughn, executive director of development for Industrial Harbor USA.

The sprawling property includes a campground, water rights to the Tahkenitch and Siltcoos lakes, power from Bonneville and Douglas Electric substations on site, a permitted landfill, a 3-mile short line railroad and 10 shop buildings comprising 150,000 square feet.

“The site is unique on the Oregon Coast and probably on the entire West Coast,” Vaughn said. “We just recognize a lot of opportunity to make a positive impact to the local economy.”

It’s not clear what Heidgerken and Vaughn intend to do with the site. Vaughn, an environmental scientist who works for Heidgerken, said he could not discuss plans in detail.

“Right now, I’m not comfortable saying, but it will definitely have an impact on the local economy,” he said. “It is jobs-focused. It will reflect the heritage of the area, and it will be environmentally friendly.”

Neither the buyer nor seller would disclose the sale price. But the site was most recently listed for $6 million, including water rights. It was first listed at $10 million for the real estate, and an additional $12 million for water rights.

The Gardiner mill site has been on the market since 2009, said John Brown, a Eugene broker who has represented the property since that time.

Over the years, prospective buyers including a barge builder, a beer distributor and an RV park entrepreneur expressed interest in the site, Brown said. Google seriously considered buying the site about four years ago, but declined because it was too remote to quickly get service technicians to the property, he said.

“It’s a unique property that has to draw a very unique category of buyer,” Brown said.

The southern Oregon coast has suffered economically from the decline in Oregon’s logging and fishing industries. In March, federal regulators rejected plans to open a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay.

Jennifer Arnold, a Douglas County planner, said an electrical permit is in the works for the Gardiner mill site. Issuance of permits for the property has been on hold because it is located in a floodplain, she said.

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Metro is seeking a team to complete schematic design for a planned public path through the former Blue Heron Paper Co. site in Oregon City.

The regional government agency late last week issued a request for proposals from teams interested in completing schematic design and developing a phased plan for construction of the Willamette Falls Riverwalk. The estimated $30 million project involves construction of a path for pedestrians and bicyclists along the Willamette River, adjacent to downtown Oregon City. It will pass through the ex-Blue Heron site and Portland General Electric property to give the public access to nearby Willamette Falls for the first time in decades.

The project is a joint effort of Metro, the city of Oregon City, Clackamas County, the state of Oregon and site owner George Heidgerken. It has been hailed as the first step toward revitalization of the ex-industrial site; it has sat vacant since 2011, when the paper mill shut down.

The schematic design team will work closely with a consultant that Oregon City is seeking to research the cultural history of the site and compile a report.

The schematic design RFP is available on the Oregon Procurement Information Network and through on the Metro website. Proposals are due by 2 p.m. on March 11.

Metro officials plan to hire a design team in June.

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Oregon City officials are seeking a consultant to research the cultural history of the former Blue Heron Paper Co. site and compile a report that will assist the team designing a public path through the property.

A request for proposals has been issued for a consultant to complete a “cultural resource/cultural landscape” report for the estimated $30 million Willamette Falls riverwalk project. The path for pedestrians and bicyclists along the Willamette River, adjacent to downtown Oregon City, will pass through the Blue Heron site and Portland General Electric property to 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 ex-industrial site, which has sat vacant since 2011, when the paper mill shut down.

The consultant’s report will assist Oregon City and other project partners, including developer George Heidgerken, Metro, Clackamas County and the state of Oregon, to ensure the riverwalk design expresses the cultural history of the site and nearby Willamette Falls. The draft report is scheduled to be completed as project design begins so that the design team will have access to information on historic resources, according to a summary of the RFP on the Oregon City website.

Proposals are due by Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. More information is available at .

Qualifications include academic degrees and professional experience in history, archaeology, architectural history, architecture or historic architecture.

Metro officials plan to later this week issue a separate RFP for a team to provide schematic design for the project. The chosen cultural resources consultant will be integrated into this schematic design process.

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