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Recognizing the need to reduce waste and curb potential environmental and public health impacts associated with residential demolition, Metro has awarded a grant to Earth Advantage, the HBA, and ReUse Consulting to add capacity to the region’s deconstruction industry. The grant, provided through Metro’s Investment and Innovation grants program, allows the partners to provide targeted training and development assistance, free of charge, to emerging deconstruction contractors in the Metro region. Candidate firms must be willing to commit to actively participating in the region's deconstruction industry subsequent to this training. Minority and woman-owned firms will be priority candidates. Apply for the remaining two spaces in this deconstruction contractor training program! The expansion of the local deconstruction contractor base is necessary. The City of Portland’s Residential Demolition Ordinance, enacted in 2018, added cost and complexity to demolition projects, helping to make deconstruction a more viable and cost-competitive option. Negative public perception of mechanical demolition makes deconstruction a wise strategy for builders looking to maintain positive relations with the communities they serve. Earth Advantage’s new Safe + Sustainable Site Certification program, which rewards builders for deconstructing prior to residential redevelopment and helps builders garner positive recognition for their site practices, is expected to drive demand for deconstruction. Additionally, it is expected that the City of Portland will expand its deconstruction ordinance within the year, further increasing demand for deconstruction services. The trainings involve competitive bidding and field work on whole-building deconstruction projects, with the expertise of Earth Advantage and ReUse Consulting ensuring that projects are completed on time, on budget, and to the highest standards of quality and safety. Builders with redevelopment projects available now, or in the pipeline, are invited to connect with this program and share bid opportunities with the HBA’s Roseann Johnson st roseannj@hbapdx.org. Previous Article