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The Roseburg News Review---December 31, 2006
The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians is working hard to build its Convention Center at the location of the former co-op
The Convention Center site is now in tribal trust and advanced planning is completed, but the timeline for construction has yet to be established.
By Paul Craig
Following is a recap, in no particular order, of stories that affected business in Douglas County during 2006.
Business in Douglas County continues to evolve.
In 2006, this was evident as Roseburg Forest Products expanded away from the West Coast, Edenbower built up, and longtime local grocery stores closed down.
Along the way, plans were also announced for new stores, more jobs and some big ideas.
DOWNTOWN PLANS OF THE COW CREEK TRIBE:
The land previously occupied by the Douglas County Farmers Co-op and Surplus Center in Roseburg went into tribal trust in 2006.
The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians still plans to put a convention center at the former co-op. It was at a "fairly advanced stage of planning" by the year’s end, according to a tribe official.
Plans were also announced in 2006 for the Canyonville-based and tribally owned Umpqua Indian Foods to build a new production facility at the former Surplus Center site.
The building would also include an upscale gourmet food store.
ROSEBURG FOREST PRODUCTS GOES SOUTH:
Roseburg Forest Products purchased seven wood products mills in the Southeastern United States from Georgia-Pacific Corp. in 2006.
The operations employ around 870 people total. Roseburg Forest Products officials stated the transaction made the company one of the largest providers of composite panels in the U.S.
Wood products still took a hit in 2006. There were curtailments at Douglas County wood products mills throughout the year.
The housing market slowed from record levels the previous two years, which shifted supply and demand. Imported lumber was also cited as a factor in an off year for the market.
EDENBOWER’S BIG BOXES:
Roseburg’s Edenbower Boulevard looks different at the end of 2006 than it did in the beginning.
At the start of the year, there was Lowe’s. Now, there’s Lowe’s and Home Depot.
The national competitors in the home improvement industry will soon be neighbors. Home Depot is scheduled to open in February.
The street may again look different in another year.
Costco representatives struck a deal with the Roseburg City Council that allowed the wholesale outlet to examine a 14-acre spot on the corner of Edenbower Boulevard and Aviation Drive, across from Lowe’s.
That 12-month agreement was signed in August.
CHAIN NAMES:
Along with Home Depot and Costco, several other name brand retailers made their presences felt in Douglas County in 2006.
Construction began on Red Robin near the Roseburg Valley Mall. Sandwich chain Schlotzsky’s Deli opened in Roseburg’s Opus Center, while Subway had new restaurants in Myrtle Creek and Drain.
Office Depot also came to town, filling the space on Stewart Parkway in Roseburg previously occupied by Office Max.
In an informal poll of News-Review readers in 2006, Olive Garden was overwhelmingly picked as the most desired national chain for the area. There are currently no plans for that restaurant locally, however.
WINE INDUSTRY GROWTH:
The Umpqua Valley wine industry continued to grow in 2006, with three new wineries starting operations.
Current operations also expanded, like Oakland’s Marshanne Landing, which built a picturesque new winery and tasting room.
The area’s wine also got some national recognition when Abacela Winery and Southern Oregon were featured in two separate Wall Street Journal pieces, as well as the New York Post.
"Adventurous wine tourists (having already ‘done’ Napa, Sonoma and Oregon’s own Willamette Valley) are discovering that southern Oregon not only looks like the rural Napa of 30 years ago, but that there’s more to do here," the New York Post author wrote.
MURPHY’S COMING BACK:
Last year, the status of Sutherlin’s Murphy Plywood plant was unknown.
It had burned down in the summer of 2005.
Throughout 2006, there were rumors that it wouldn’t be rebuilt locally. In September, such talk was put to rest permanently.
The ground was broken and construction began on a new wood products plant.
The goal is to have the structure complete by February 2007, with an operational plant employing 100 people by the end of 2007.
AMERICAN BRIDGE’S BIG DEAL:
A sign at the entrance to American Bridge’s Reedsport facility reads, "Our bridge to the future is American Bridge."
That continued to be the case for Douglas County’s coastal community, as American Bridge was awarded a $1.4 billion contract in 2006 for work on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, shared jointly with a Texas company.
American Bridge officials said most of the fabrication work would come from the Reedsport facility.
A few miles down the road, the former International Paper mill tower was imploded in May and the 350-acre location was officially put on the market in the summer.
RV JOBS:
Alfa Leisure, a California-based recreational vehicle manufacturer, announced in April plans to operate out of the South Umpqua Industrial Park.
Construction, it was hoped, would begin during the summer. Within five years, the company would employ 200 locally.
Toward the end of the year, county and company officials were still working to get the operation going.
The goal, according to county officials, is now to get construction started by spring 2007.
NO MORE GROCERY STORES:
At least, not on Roseburg’s southeast or southwest sides of town.
Two Roseburg grocery stores closed for good Dec. 2. Safeway in downtown Roseburg closed after 43 years in business.
The Circle S Market also closed on West Harvard Avenue. That location had operated as a grocery store in various incarnations since the 1950s.
Many local residents voiced concerns about not having a conveniently located grocery store because of the closures.
LAST DAYS:
Several other longtime Douglas County businesses closed for good in 2006.
UpStarts Growers Nursery in Lookingglass closed after 12 years. Insley’s Greenhouse in Green closed after 30 years.
Perry’s Electric & Plumbing Supply closed after 20 years in business locally and the Oregon Dollar Store closed in May after 15 years in business at the North Roseburg Plaza.
There were others, as well, such as Angels in the Attic Co. and Riverside Tire Factory in Roseburg.
Many customers said the most emotional goodbye to their favorite restaurant, The Tom Tom Restaurant in Roseburg, when it closed in September.
"This place will have more effect on people than any other place in Roseburg that's closed in my life," said resident Tom Findlay, on The Tom Tom’s last day.