Troutdale, OR

Project Description

Located on the banks of the Sandy River and alongside the Union Pacific Railroad, the Troutdale Riverfront Renewal Area was once a bustling industrial zone with connections to the rest of the country via land and water. What was a wool pullery, slaughterhouse, rendering plant, and meatpacking facility eventually became a wastewater treatment plant, sludge lagoon, and cabinet-making business in the late 1900s. Although these prior operations contaminated the site, the City of Troutdale used a thorough assessment process to create a highly effective cleanup plan and is now in the process of transforming the site into greenspace and a mixed-use commercial area called the Confluence at Troutdale.

The City worked collaboratively with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to manage and assess the environmental concerns with the site. They quickly found, however, that the concerns were more complex than they had initially expected. After eleven years of Environmental Site Assessments – utilizing the U.S. EPA Targeted Brownfield Assessment program and a Brownfield Assessment Grant – the City had created a detailed map of the contaminated parcels on the site and a comprehensive cleanup plan. Implementation of the plan initially proved to be an uphill battle as the City did not have complete ownership of the property. After obtaining ownership of the property by entering into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with Oregon DEQ, however the City was able to excavate contaminated soil and animal waste, decommission contaminated groundwater wells, demolish old buildings, and dispose of hazardous building materials on the site. The final contaminated media management plan can be found here.

The extensive assessment and planning for the site was funded by a diverse group of sources. Business Oregon’s Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Program was instrumental in providing the City with a $65,000 grant for environmental assessment on the site, loaning more than $600,000 to a private entity for the removal of buried animal waste material at the site. For assessment, Troutdale was granted EPA funding and also received grants from many departments in Oregon, including Business Oregon, the Metro, Department of Environmental Quality, Parks and Recreation, and more. In addition to providing EPA grant review, CCLR advised the City on grant implementation.

The City completed cleanup in July 2021 and is currently seeking a developer for The Confluence at Troutdale, a portion of the site zoned for downtown mixed-use commercial development. The remainder of the property is designated for a 3.5 acre waterfront park and trail which will connect Troutdale to the Columbia River Gorge. CCLR has been assisting the City in position the site for purchase by a developer with a similar vision to the City’s, including a comprehensive webpage marketing the site as well as a robust RFQ to attract the right developer to collaborate and make The Confluence at Troutdale a reality.