The Oregonian's Sunday business roundup | OregonLive.com

Site destined for high-density housing units

A Tanasbourne site originally intended for a Hillsboro library will become a high-density housing complex, under a plan unveiled last week.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved an agreement to sell the five-acre property at Northwest Cornell Road and John Olsen Avenue to West Hills Development for $3.5 million. West Hills is the parent company for Arbor Homes, which will build the complex.

The development will be the first high-density housing complex inside the city's planned mixed-used, urban AmberGlen community. The city asked developers to build at least 200 units, said Assistant Planning Manager Colin Cooper. Eventually the city hopes to bring 5,000 to 7,000 units into the AmberGlen area, Cooper said.

"We think Arbor is going to push the upper limit of what can be built on the site without structured parking for a residential project," Cooper said. "We think they have a good preliminary plan that relates well to both the site and the surrounding street frontage, as well as the Rock Creek Greenway."

Later this month, the City Council will begin holding public hearings on proposed zoning changes to AmberGlen. Those changes would help transform the business park into a neighborhood more like Portland's Pearl District. The new zones will require a minimum of 45 dwelling units per acre.

The city paid $1.5 million for the land in 1999, intending to build a 60,000-square-foot library and police precinct. But in 2004, voters rejected the $25.5 million bond intended to pay for its construction.

-- Casey Parks
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Tualatin fight continues for controversial quarry

Tonquin Holdings LLC says it will continue fighting for approval of a quarry, but it stopped short of saying it would appeal to the state Supreme Court.

"We continue to believe that we have a viable project that will ultimately be approved," said John O'Neil, a company spokesman.

A year ago, a Clackamas County hearings officer approved the Poole Quarry, a planned rock quarry on 35 acres at Southwest Tonquin and Morgan roads. But the decision came with a long list of conditions for Tonquin Holdings.

The area was zoned as rural residential farm forest in Clackamas County, near the Washington County line. The plan drew strong opposition from residents of nearby Tualatin and Sherwood because of concerns with noise and traffic.

By March 2011, both the company and opposing groups challenged the decision through the Land Use Board of Appeals. Tonquin Holdings filed notice to appeal its own approval, citing the need for "technical clarifications," and the Friends of Rock Creek community group challenged the project altogether.

The land-use board subsequently ruled against the plan in August. Tonquin Holdings challenged the ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which upheld that ruling last month.

-- Sally Ho
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Portland

Two PSU career fairs are set for this week

Portland State University will hold its largest career fairs of the year this week.

The Engineering and Technology Job Fair is Tuesday and the All Majors Career Fair is Wednesday.

More than 50 companies will be represented at each fair. "The employers who are coming are coming with jobs," Greg Flores, associate director at the university's career center, said in a news release.

Representatives from Intel, Daimler Trucks North America, Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, the city of Lake Oswego and many other organizations will be looking to connect with students and graduates.

Both fairs run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, 1825 S.W. Broadway.

Details: pdx.edu/careers or 503-725-4613.

-- Rebecca Koffman
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Portland
Hollywood Theatre nears donation goal

One month after Regal Cinemas donated 600 used chairs to nonprofit Hollywood Theatre, the beloved movie house has raised $19,000, nearly two-thirds of the $30,000 needed to install the seats.

Executive Director Doug Whyte hopes to hit the goal by the end of the year. To donate, go to www.hollywoodtheatre.org.

--Larry Bingham

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/02/biz_roundup.html

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