The Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency board approved a four-month extension for Improvement Program Grant and Development Funding agreements for the Basalt Commons mixed-use residential and commercial project on the former Griffith Motors site at 523 East 3rd in The Dalles. Developer Mary Hanlon said in a letter to the URA the project is in the final stages of loan development preparation, the General Contractor is finalizing subcontracts, and said those should take about three months. She asked for a six month extension. This is not the first extension for the project, and URA board member and Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege said it is not abnormal for a development of this size to take time to come together. Hanlon’s letter to the URA projected that demolition of the old building on the property will begin in September, followed by construction.