For Immediate Release
Aug. 9, 2002

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- The first phases of construction are now underway at TimberMill Shores, a new mixed-use community being developed on a former industrial site in this south-central Oregon city.

The main electrical transmission line for the 50-acre first phase of the project is now being installed. The 126-foot line will provide ample power for the shops, offices, residences and other buildings in TimberMill Shores.

Meanwhile, site preparation is going forward for a new 16,000-square-foot office building for AmeriTitle Inc., which will be the first building located in TimberMill Shores.

In addition to electric lines, the development also will draw power from another, very unusual source -- geothermal energy.

Klamath Falls sits atop a large underground reservoir of natural hot water, and for many years this energy source has been used to keep sidewalks snow- and ice-free and to heat some buildings in parts of the city.

Lynn Bruno of W&H Pacific, engineers for the project, said geothermal heat will be used for warming sidewalks in TimberMill Shores "at a minimum," and may heat buildings as well.

"There's plenty of geothermal capacity", he said.

The TimberMill Shores mixed-use project is being developed on land along the eastern shore of Lake Ewauna directly adjacent to the heart of downtown Klamath Falls. For many years previously it was the site of the Modoc Lumber Co. (which closed in 1995) and other industrial users.

Over the decades Modoc Lumber acquired more than 180 acres along both shores of Lake Ewauna. Robert J. Shaw, managing member of Pine Cone LLC, the developers of TimberMill Shores, said plans call for restoring about 100 acres to their original condition as wetlands, providing habitat for fish, waterfowl and other wildlife.

<-- Back