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Seattle & Northwest  + Portland  + Industrial  | 

Tribe Reclaims Willamette Falls Ancestral Homelands

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde acquired a 23-acre site near Willamette Falls that was once its ancestral homelands more than 160 years ago. The former Blue Heron Paper Co. mill site in Oregon City was sold for an undisclosed amount by Tacoma developer George Heidgerken, who bought the property in 2014 for $2.2 million.

Cheryle A. Kennedy, chairwoman of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, says “This is a historic day for the Grand Ronde Tribe and our people. Since 1855, the government has worked to disconnect our people from our homelands. Today, we’re reclaiming a piece of those lands and resurrecting our role as caretakers to Willamette Falls.”

Though the Tribe has not determined what it plans to do with the site, it indicated that a mix of commercial and cultural development is likely. A proposed riverwalk on the site may also come to fruition in collaboration with Metro, the Willamette Falls Trust and other partners, which would create new public access to the falls.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser

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Connect With Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s Kennedy

About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Public Relations and Communications for Connect Creative. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 40 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect Creative’s agency client services and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from public relations and content strategy, communications and message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. Prior to joining Connect Media in 2015, his most recent corporate communications roles involved leading a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, playing a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest (BrightView), the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. He has worked on marketing communications assignments for such CRE companies as Blackstone/Equity Office, Carlyle, Caruso, Disney Resorts, GE Capital, Irvine Company, Hines, Howard Hughes Corp., Jeffries, Lennar, MGM, Marcus & Millichap, Prologis, Raleigh Studios, Simon, Starwood, Trammell Crow Company, Transamerica, UBS and Wynn Resorts. Dennis has also worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of consumer electronic, media and tech brands including SlingMedia, Channel Master, Deluxe Media Entertainment, BeIn Sports, EchoStar and Sprint. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Off Madison Ave., Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, Boy Scouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and the Thunderbirds Charities.

  • ◦Development
  • ◦Sale/Acquisition
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