News

New La Grande Library/Office Center To Be Built

City & Company Announce Public/Private Partnership with ODS

Portland, Ore. - The ODS Companies [ODS] and the City of La Grande today announced a public/private partnership to develop the former Safeway site in downtown La Grande as a multi-purpose site with a new public library, a new claims and customer service office for ODS and a new dental hygiene school operated by ODS in partnership with both Eastern Oregon University [EOU] and Oregon Institute of Technology [OIT]. The overall project, to be known as The ODS La Grande Center, will be developed by ODS. Approval of the La Grande City Council will be needed before construction can proceed.

The project is currently in the design stage with groundbreaking scheduled for late spring 2004 and completion in mid-2005. Colleen Johnson, Mayor of La Grande said, "This project has been two years in the making and, in its latest form, represents a wonderful combination of business, education and a new library, all in a downtown environment. The City looks forward to working closely with ODS, EOU and OIT in this creative public/private partnership and in bringing this exciting downtown revitalization project to a successful conclusion."

"We see this as a unique opportunity to help the City of La Grande with its long-time goal of building a new public library while, at the same time, meeting important goals of our own," said Robert Gootee, President and CEO of The ODS Companies. "In addition, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Colleen Johnson and Wes Hare from the City of La Grande, Dixie Lund from EOU and Martha Anne Dow from OIT. Without these visionary leaders, this project would not be proceeding."

The ODS Companies (ODS) is a multi-faceted organization that provides dental, medical, and professional liability insurance products, along with a variety of business services including dental practice management software and benefits administration. ODS serves more than 600,000 Oregonians. Founded in 1955, ODS is Oregon's leading dental insurer and a member of the Delta Dental Plan Association, the nation's largest and most experienced dental benefits provider. They are headquartered in Portland, Oregon and have offices in Milwaukie and La Grande.