Private investors have quietly locked up an option to buy much of Ross Island, the string of gravel-mined islets in the Willamette River just south of downtown Portland. The move, documented in a recently filed memorandum, is already stirring debate over whether the island’s deep, algae-choked lagoon should become a closer-in dumping ground for contaminated sediment from the long-running Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup. Regulators, civic groups, and state officials now have a tight window to sort through environmental tradeoffs and financial incentives if the idea moves forward.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, a memorandum filed in Multnomah County land records shows Heronpark LLC has signed an agreement with R.B. Pamplin Corp. and Ross Island Sand & Gravel. The deal gives the investor group an option to purchase roughly 350 acres of the Ross Island archipelago at any time over the next five years. The document carves out about 50 acres and a one-acre Toe Island that are owned by the city and specifies that any sale must close on…..