Offices proposed for site on Navarre

Developer says 100 jobs possible

3/14/2012
BY GABRIELLE RUSSON
BLADE STAFF WRITER

By summer 2013, a new commercial office building could generate up to 100 jobs in Oregon, a real-estate developer told city officials.

The two-story building is proposed for an empty lot near the Oregon Clinic at 3851 Navarre Ave.

Oregon City Council is considering the developer's request to change the property's zoning from residential to commercial.

Council is expected to hold a public hearing and vote on the issue at a March 26 meeting.

Construction could start as early as the summer, and the new tenant could be in place by spring of 2013. The business could create 80 to 100 jobs, said developer Bruce Kearns of JMS Real Estate.

He told the city planning commission that because of a confidentiality agreement, he did not want to disclose the building's tenant.

Oregon Mayor Mike Seferian speculated that the new building could be either a doctor's office or another business related to the medical field.

"The way they spoke of the size of the building, the amount of jobs, the scale of jobs, I couldn't think of any other field other than engineer" or the medical field, the mayor said.

The land is owned by Navinshandra Fulabhat and Sharmishta Patel, according to the city.

According to the minutes from the planning commission meeting in late February, Daniel Martin, a resident of the neighborhood near the northern part of the proposed site, was concerned about where the business' parking would be and if it would be open around the clock.

Mr. Kearns replied that the business would be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

To act as a buffer between the homes, the business could build a retention pond and a parking lot, according to Mayor Seferian. He said he did not believe the building would significantly affect the homes. "We're hoping it may even improve their way of life because there is no drainage back there," he said.