T?ucking Co., Inc.

Eagle Descends On Trailer Park

Unlike the Journey's End mobile home park, which recently was able to keep Home Depot from usurping its Santa Rosa, Ca., site, the National Trailer Park in Seattle, Wa., probably will not be so lucky in warding off a home center giant.

Unless the tenants can raise the $5 million purchase price by spring plus an additional $1.45 million for rehabilitation work, the park site will house a 135,000-sq. ft. Eagle Hardware & Garden store.

Eagle exercised an option to buy the park last year, but after the owner sent eviction notices, the tenants sued and a judge ruled they had firstrefusal rights to match Eagle's offer.

But, decreeing it would allow no public comment, the city council voted 6-3 against a $2.15 million financial package to help the tenants buy the park. The ruling costs the tenants $1.8 million previously pledged by the state and $200,000 from the county. The city would have put up the remainder, but council members said they didn't want to take funds away from other low income housing projects for such a gamble.

Eagle said it has been providing money and other assistance to tenants to find a new home. About 50 of the 1 I 3 sites have been vacated. cash and logs to restart it. Also unusual is that the bankruptcy judge approved the plan while opposing creditor attorneys are still battling over its terms.

"For the administration, certain members of Congress, and radical environmentalists to claim they were surprised by what the law directs is either pure politics, very poor staff work, or both."

- Jim Geisinger, president, Northwest Forestm Association, on the timber salvage amendment Pres. Clinton signed into law last summer.

Creditors Restaft Sawmill

Former suppliers have taken over bankrupt Preston Lumber Co. and restarted its Cloverdale, Ca., mill as Russian River Sawmills.

In the highly unusual outcome for a bankruptcy, several smaller creditors rallied to put up $675,000 to buy the mill from major creditor Sumitomo Bank, as well as operating

Headed by Richard Priest and Gary Luiz, the mill will operate with 40 employees on a budget of $6 million less than Preston did with 150 workers. Within two weeks of the midNovember approval, it was cutting lumber at the mill that sat dormant for nine months (see Oct., p.2l).

Depot Renames CrossRoads

Home Depot is folding its CrossRoads farmer/rancher-oriented stores under the Home Depot name.

Currently operating CrossRoads stores in Quincy, Il., and Waterloo, Ia., Home Depot will open its third rural market store in Columbia, Mo., in the spring as a Home Depot, as it will future stores in such areas.

"Since announcing our rural concept test, we have determined that our traditional core merchandise departments, which account for the majority of the CrossRoads merchandise mix, do well in rural markets," said chairman and ceo Bernard Marcus. "By using the Home Depot name, we can realize operational effi ciencies."