Willamette Falls Redevelopment Gets $2 Million In Federal Funds

OREGON CITY, OR —Two million dollars from the federal government is on the way to Oregon City. The funds will help make needed street infrastructure improvements as part of the Willamette Falls Redevelopment project.

The funds were announced by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde who own the land and are overseeing the project. The improvements are being made as part of the overall effort to redevelop the former Blue Heron paper mill site.

The Grand Ronde said that Oregon's senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are responsible for the allocation.

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"We want to thank our senators for work they’ve done to highlight this important project," Chairwoman of the Grand Ronde Tribal Council Cheryle Kennedy said.

Kennedy added that the funds take "this project one step closer to welcoming family and friends back to Willamette Falls."

A spokesman for Grand Ronde said that the money will help fund the estimated $3.7 million that will be spent to make several infrastructure improvements including:

New public access streets and an extension of Main Street from downtown Oregon City into the site;

The previously vacated Water Avenue will be constructed from 99E to 4th Street;

4th Street will be extended from Water Avenue to Main Street; and

Public utilities will be installed to serve the development, including sanitary and storm sewers, a water main and facilities, streetlights, and traffic signals.

The mill closed in 2011. Last month, Grand Ronde started demolition work on the project.

Merkley said that he was pleased to help secure the money and support, "ongoing effort to clean up and restore the Blue Heron site at Willamette Fall, a location that holds significant historical and cultural significance to tribal nations.

"I will continue to advocate for this funding as it moves through Congress, and do everything I can to support the sovereignty and self-determination of tribal nations in Oregon.

The former mill site is at Willamette Falls, the second-largest waterfall by volume in the United States. Grand Ronde Tribes have fished by the falls going back hundreds of years.