December 01, 2010

Mayor Sam Adams joined representatives of the Portland Development Commission (PDC), The Molasky Group, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to celebrate the December 1 groundbreaking for construction of the FBI’s Portland headquarters at Cascade Station, near Portland International Airport.

PDC’s sale of the eight-acre parcel on Northeast Cascades Parkway to The Molasky Group, a Las Vegas developer that specializes in building facilities for lease to the government, cleared the way for the project to proceed.

“Given the challenges in today’s real estate environment, it took innovative financing and a lot of patience and creativity to make this project happen,” said Adams. “It will generate revenues and jobs for the city of Portland.”

“This project will allow the FBI to meet their vital mission serving the public throughout the State of Oregon while meeting current space and security requirements,” said GSA Regional Administrator George Northcroft.

The $60 million project, scheduled for completion in March 2012, will generate more than 600 direct construction jobs, and between 300-500 additional jobs through the related supply chain. In addition to the building investment, which will generate property taxes estimated to grow from approximately $500,000 annually in 2012 to more than $900,000 in 2030, sales proceeds from the transaction will create revenue for the Airport Way Urban Renewal Area (URA) to support ongoing economic development programs in the URA, including small business loans for business expansions, remodeling and new construction.

The Molasky Group will construct and own the four-story,121,000 square foot building, which will consolidate several local FBI offices, and is designed to meet LEED Silver certification. The contractor is Skanska USA Building of Beaverton.

“Skanska is very pleased to be building this project for The Molasky Group of Companies. There has been a considerable amount of effort into making this project a reality,” said Mike Doran, Skanska project executive. “With the commercial development market at the bottom, this project is timely and will create jobs for our local families.