TriMet is moving forward with its Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project. The “mega-project” will extend over 11 miles of new light rail or “MAX” line from downtown Portland to Bridgeport Village. The Project will also result in the construction of 13 new light rail stations and new park and ride lots accommodating up to 3,600 parking spaces. The Project is estimated to cost approximately $2.8 billion and will require the taking of hundreds of properties in whole or part. In order to take the properties, TriMet will exercise its power of eminent domain.

Additional information on the Project, including the list of properties currently targeted for acquisition can be found at swcorridorlightrail.com, which is an informational site for property owners my firm has created.

On TriMet’s most recent light rail expansion—the Portland Milwaukie Light Rail Project—my team and I represented a significant number of the property owners who sought legal representation. For one of those property owners, TriMet refused to negotiate a reasonable result, so we took the case to trial and obtained a jury verdict in an amount six times what TriMet originally offered and to the dollar on the testimony of our client’s appraiser. The court followed with a significant award of attorney fees and costs to our client. We then successfully defended TriMet’s appeal of the trial court judgments. See Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District v. Walnut Hill, LLC, 292 Or App 417 (2018).