Mall on Portland Airport Land Nears Opening

Ten years ago, a development company came to the city with an offer.

Bechtel Corp., a San Francisco construction giant, told the city it would pay for part of a MAX extension to Portland International Airport in exchange for the right to develop nearly 120 acres of airport land between Interstate 205 and Northeast 82nd Avenue.

Finally, this summer, the first part of that development will open with the completion of an Ikea store and an open-air mall.

Construction on both projects is under way. Stores at the 35-acre mall, being developed by Tigard-based CenterCal Properties, will start opening in June. The last of the 40 tenants in the mall, called Cascade Station, is expected to open by September.

No opening date has been announced by Ikea. A spokesman would confirm only that the store will be completed this summer.

Construction on a business hotel and an office building is expected to start this summer, continuing the momentum for a project that was delayed by the 2001 terrorist attacks and the faltering economy that followed.

"It's very exciting that this is finally taking shape," says Steve Wells, managing director of the local Trammell Crow office, which has been involved in the project since its inception.

Trammell Crow, which bought out Bechtel's interest in the property last summer, has sold the development rights for many of the projects but retains about 10 acres, Wells says.

The developments will mirror those near airports in Europe and on the East Coast, where office and retail complexes are being built on property with restricted uses.

"It's a use that fits well with airports," says Fred Bruning, president of CenterCal Properties. "Usually, there's a lot of land around airports that can't be used as housing."

The MAX line opened in 2001. But the development was delayed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the slowing growth of movie theaters and big-box retailers, which were expected to anchor the shopping center.

Plus, zoning at the time forbid retailers bigger than 60,000 square feet, making it difficult to find anchor tenants, Wells says. City commissioners agreed in 2005 to allow up to three retailers with more than 60,000 square feet.

Ikea will be one. But Costco Home recently announced that it's abandoning efforts to build a store near the airport.

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