Commercial Inspector Mark Vasquez treated the bureau's student employees Autumn BigBoy, Viktor Palchey, Outreach Program Coordinator Tiffani Penson and The Portland Observer's Raymond Rendleman to a grand tour of the Encore Condo Building which is currently under construction.

The Encore is a 15 story building with 176 units in the newly developed Pearl District that includes town homes with large garden areas targeted toward families.  It also faces the Pearl District's newest park, The Fields.  The prices range from $300,000 to $1,991,500.

During the tour Mark pointed out what he inspects for as a City of Portland Commercial Inspector and the importance of being thorough.  He showed various units and described the use of the different equipment and products used to build a building of this size.

As we toured the building, Portland Observer's reporter Raymond Rendleman interviewed us about the importance of being a city inspector, the bureau's efforts to engage youth by hiring them as summer interns and for the Trainee Program and the ways the bureau will continue to educate the community through outreach.

Mark stressed to the students "that it is always a good idea to have a trade in your back pocket to fall back on no matter what your first choice of a profession is".  Not only did he talk about his job and the trades, but he offered the students words of wisdom and examples of his own personal experiences that we all appreciated.

Thank you Mark and Raymond for your interest in our youth and your time.

For more information, contact Outreach Program Coordinator Tiffani Penson @ (503) 823-1109 or penson_t@ci.portland.or.us

Related to this article: Lofty Opportunity - The Portland Observer