This is the “after” shot, taken Aug. 24. Look below for the “before.”
The new owners of the former Permawood or Cemwood property on the Willamette River have cleaned the place up, as I discovered on a ride along the riverside trail.
The vacant property, subject of an extensive environmental cleanup after the roofing plant there closed and was demolished some 20 years ago, had become a periodic dumping ground for household trash. The view of the messy site marred that segment of the unimproved trail between Albany’s Bowman and Simpson parks.
In May this year a Salem investment group, Willamette River View Holdings LLC, bought the roughly 6 acres for $1,085,000, according to Linn County property records. They have plans for some kind of housing development, apartments or condos. But as of Thursday no actual proposal for land-use approval had been filed with the Albany Planning Division.
This is what the property looked like until a few days ago:
The view from the Simpson-Bowman trail on Aug. 8.
But earlier this week, the trash was cleaned up and taken away. Neighbors no doubt are happy about no longer having to look at this mess, and so are the people walking or riding along the Simpson-Bowman trail. (hh)
The power of the press can move mountains, even trash!