Month: May 2023

Community, Crime

Art Theft at Milepost 5

On Saturday, May 13th, operators of the art gallery located within Milepost 5 noticed four pieces from The Surreal Life and Art of Keith Dillon collection were missing. The suspected thieves removed to artwork sometime between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., according to Sarah Gerhardt, president of the Milepost 5 Studios Artists Collective. The art exposition is on the first floor of Milepost 5 Studios & Apartments at 850 NE 81st Avenue. A fundraising campaign is underway to secure safe storage facilities for the remaining artwork. People with knowledge of the art’s whereabouts are encouraged to share with Gerhardt or the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).

Pieces currently on display are part of a memorial art exhibition celebrating the artist’s life, making this theft even more difficult for the community. “I’m devastated by this and angry. His work is stunning and deserves the visibility he never got while here,” said Gerhardt. “Now, not only am I trying to find the pieces. I am trying to get a storage facility secured and raising funds to pay for it a year or two in advance. That way, not only can I store his pieces but also other artists’ stuff.”

Flyer reporting missing art provided by Milepost 5 Studios Artists Collective

Dillon was a photographer and surreal digital artist living at Milepost 5. He advocated for keeping the artist community alive within the building and inspired Sarah Gerhardt’s current efforts to revitalize the artistic roots of the complex. The building has faltered from its original intent as a low-income live-work space for artists. Opening in 2007, it was a unique housing project that was supposed to bolster the arts. However, residents have struggled with security concerns over the last few years and have seen reduced access to creative spaces. Although some improvements are underway, this recent incident indicates gallery activities require more security.

Many Milepost 5 residents wish to change the narrative around their building and reinstitute the artist collective. This loss of art will not deter those efforts but will reprioritize the fledgling non-profit’s priorities toward protecting the art. Gerhardt asks people with information about the art’s location to contact her at 503-990-5547 or email Officer Brooks at Andrew.brooks@police.Portlandoregon.gov with information regarding case number 23-125240.

By

Jacob Loeb

Correction: The artist’s name is Keith Dillon. A previous version of this article used a misspelled version of the last name.

History, Infrastructure

SE Yamhill Sinkhole

SE Yamhill Street is closed from SE 76th Avenue to SE 73rd Avenue due to a sinkhole. People began reporting the collapse of the road surface on Friday, May 12th. The sidewalks remain open to pedestrians. A significant section of the street is fenced off to keep people away from the unsafe area.

According to the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), the hole is approximately 10 feet deep and 30 feet across, although the open aperture of the void and visible bottom appear less than reported. However, similar to an iceberg, the perceptible danger of a sinkhole can be smaller than the danger below the surface. PBOT cautions people to stay behind the protective barricades until crews can repair the roadway.

This section on SE Yamhill Street began as a dirt road between two farms, as visible in a photograph from 1906. The road’s incline was so steep in this section of Yamhill that the Mount Tabor Street Car line Diverted to SE Taylor Street to bypass it. Current public transportation, however, continues to use Yamhill. Due to the sinkhole, the TriMet number 15 bus line will skip eastbound service at SE Yamhill & 73rd (Stop ID 6445) and SE Yamhill & 76th (Stop ID 6447). Drivers are also bypassing stops for westbound riders at SE Yamhill & 73rd (Stop ID 6446) and SE Yamhill & 71st (Stop ID 6444).

PBOT asks drivers and cyclists to find alternate routes, and TriMet requests bus riders adjust the stops they intend to use. Expect to see PBOT workers address this issue soon. However, the underlying street structure could require extensive repair.

Yamhill Street at 71st looking East. Photo by Karl J Straub, 1906.

About Karl J Straub, believed to be the photographer of the 1906 Yamhill image. – Born around 1882 in Oklahoma, Straub relocated to Portland before the turn of the last century. In the last hours of 1902, Straub is recognized as an officer of the Carnation Social Club, celebrating New Year’s at Burkhard Hall. In January 1908, he married Catherine Stopper. He and his wife lived at 1973 East Main Street (Currently addressed as 1228 SE 78th Avenue) according to the Sunday Oregonian birth announcement section on December 29th, 1912. According to the Morning Oregonian, a son soon followed on May 27th, 1914. By 1940 he had moved to 1340 SE 88th Avenue, a home later owned by his daughter Clara Straub through the1960s.

Update: City staff repaired the Yamhill sinkhole reopening the street on August 16th, 2023.

by

Jacob Loeb

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Community, Infrastructure

Park Light Pole Community Meeting

On May 17th, Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) will host an online community question and answer session regarding its Light Pole Safety Project. Attendees should log in just before 7 p.m. on Wednesday to participate in the hour-long event. Bureau representatives will present timeline and lamp post design information before answering questions. This meeting and other significant program changes resulted from public objection to the program’s first iteration, which planned to remove 244 light posts in twelve parks without sufficient funds for replacement.

On February 22nd, PP&R began the removal of potentially dangerous light poles in City parks, including Montavilla and Mount Tabor Parks. Engineers determined that some older cast-concrete light poles in Portland Parks have structural anchoring issues that could pose life and safety hazards to the public. This project had limited funding, with just two parks expected to receive new lights within 16 months. Affected parks would have closed at 10:00 p.m., with Park Rangers frequently visiting at night to compensate for the dangers caused by the poorly illuminated facilities. The maintenance worker’s quick action and the public’s short notice caused anger in the community. Before citizen groups could mobilize, PP&R crews removed lights in Mount Scott Park, Sellwood Park, and Sellwood Riverfront Park.

Within weeks of announcing the Light Pole Safety Project, several community groups asked PP&R leaders and City elected officials to halt the removal and reconsider the process. Among them, Montavilla’s neighborhood coalition Southeast Uplift sent a letter signed by 23 community-based organizations. The letter requested the City find funding to restore all lighting it had or would have removed. It also asked PP&R to postpone further light removal until they procured replacement units and engaged the community in the replacement lighting process.

At the April 5th Portland City Council session, the Mayor and all four Commissioners approved an amended contract with McKinstry Essention for energy savings performance contracting services, including funding for new park lights. PP&R halted light pole removal and has begun a community engagement campaign that includes the Zoom meeting on May 17th. Participation in this meeting is an opportunity for community members to stay informed about this project that impacts the function of the public parks. Additionally, attendance signals to City staff that public engagement is a valued component of this project and others like it. Registration is not required, and organizers invite everyone to attend.

Zoom Meeting Link:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81212765219?pwd=Sk04a1pjcFR0V0ZnL0lFMVA2QzdZQT09 
Meeting ID: 812 1276 5219 | Passcode: 078274

Disclosure: The author of this article serves on the Montavilla Neighborhood Association and 82nd Avenue Business Association boards, both signers of the Southeast Uplift letter.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Community

Police Staffing Traffic Division

On May 9th, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) announced it would partially re-institute the Traffic Division. In 2021, Chief Chuck Lovell transferred officers to precincts to answer 911 emergency calls during a police shortage, and the division has remained mostly unstaffed until now. In this limited iteration of traffic-focused policing, two sergeants, ten motorcycle officers, and two car-based officers will work seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Chief Lovell acknowledges a steep increase in fatal crashes since transferring officers from the Traffic Division. Although BBP remains understaffed and continues to face an increased 911 call volume, the public’s desire for traffic enforcement has prompted this slight shift in priority. 2022 logged 68 fatal crashes, with nearly half involving pedestrians. On April 28th, Montavilla was the site of a deadly vehicle-pedestrian crash involving a person in a wheelchair. The early morning incident at NE 82nd Avenue and Glisan Street took the life of someone thought to be in a crosswalk. PPB feels having officers patrolling High-crash Corridors during the evening hours should help curb reckless and impaired driving, reducing the number of deadly crashes.

The current Traffic Division is smaller than pre-pandemic levels and will focus on reducing dangerous driving behaviors, including Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) detection and investigation. Traffic officers will also support traffic-related calls for service, investigating severe and fatal injury crashes. This limited return to enforcement may strike a balance between discouraging the most dangerous drivers from harmful behavior and not over-policing an often profiled population. Expect more officers on the streets pulling over motorists and issuing warnings or citations.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Business Closing, View of Montavilla

24 Hour Fitness Mall 205 Location Closing

On May 26th, Mall 205’s 24 Hour Fitness gym will close permanently, with current members transferring to the Hollywood location at 4224 NE Halsey Street. This closure is the second gym to cease operations in the area this year. The ample exercise space offered an indoor lap pool, steam room, sauna, basketball court, and the standard assortment of fitness equipment.

Representatives for 24 Hour Fitness did not provide a specific reason for the gym’s closure, saying only that it is “due to a combination of circumstances.” Like many in-person fitness locations, 24 Hour Fitness suffered financially during the mandatory pandemic closures and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 15th, 2020. Although the national chain recovered from that setback, emerging from bankruptcy in the same year, the company close over 100 locations as part of its restructuring plan. The Mall 205 location survived those cuts, but gyms have continued to suffer post-pandemic. Nearby Cascade Athletic Clubs closed its Montavilla location earlier this year, citing a slow recovery after reopening.

The fitness chain opened the soon-to-be shuttered location at 10052 SE Washington Street over two decades ago, occupying the southeast corner of the L-shaped building. Members access the exercise facility from the back parking lot. However, the location retained interior access prior to the recent mall reconfiguration. The shopping center failed to draw many customers to its interior corridors, and most stores relied on the outside doors for access when they could.

Site capture of 24hourfitness.com from June 9th, 2002. Curtesy archive.org

In 2022, the Mall property sold to an investment group that ended leases with the interior tenants. The property’s new owners will renovate the building to support larger storefronts independently accessed from the parking lot. Recent building permit applications state that Hobby Lobby will open a location somewhere on the property between Target and Home Depot. Other national brands are expected to take space in the revitalized shopping complex, and the 24 Hour Fitness vacancy should help with that transformation.

The exercise location’s closure, regardless of the cause, will leave just one general-use gym in the area. MUV Fitness is less than 1,000 feet from the 24 Hour Fitness Mall 205 location. That business attracted some former Cascade Athletic Clubs members and could become a viable option for 24 Hour Fitness members. People uninterested in switching to 24 Hour Fitness Hollywood location will likely consider MUV Fitness or look to alternative venues like Mt. Tabor CrossFit at 8028 NE Glisan Street.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Construction, Infrastructure

Dispensary Work Improving Pedestrian Realm

Cement masons are currently reconstructing and improving the sidewalk around the nearly 100-year-old retail building at 6834 NE Glisan Street. This work will increase the sidewalk corner, extending the curb’s edge into the parking lane and shortening the crosswalk distance across NE Glisan Street. The infrastructure enhancements are part of a multi-year tenant improvement project for Green Front Dispensary and should create a safer pedestrian realm.

In 2021, Green Front Dispensary began work on hardening the building’s security and providing other internal upgrades to the space. The permits call for the installation of a reinforced cinderblock storage vault and bullet-resistant walls around the cashiers. It also created a new entry vestibule, limiting direct access to the main sales floor. These security measures speak to the constant threat to employees working in a cash-only business. Workers at other dispensaries have died during robberies, and many marijuana businesses have looked for ways to protect staff by implementing security designs pioneered in the banking industry.

The high cost of these internal updates has an external community benefit. When a permit’s valuation is thirty-five percent or more of the assessed value of improvements on a site, the property owner is required to make updates to the public right-of-way if the infrastructure is not currently meeting city standards. The sidewalks surrounding the building lacked ADA-compliant curb ramps and had substandard curbs. 

This reconstruction project will create sidewalks that offer the high level of safety and accessibility that the city now requires, along with enhanced aesthetics. Earlier plans for this sidewalk segment showed four street trees distributed around the building. The current layout only offers two large tree wells for the existing juvenile trees planted previously. Regardless of lower tree density, these sidewalk updates should enhance the area for customers and the general public. Depending on the weather, look for the sidewalk to reopen in the following weeks.

Green Front’s sidewalks prior to construction project

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to please consider becoming a paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Infrastructure, New Business

SE 76th and Division Pay to Park

Last weekend, the long-dormant parking lot at 7601 SE Division Street reopened its gates, officially welcoming vehicle storage again. Universal Parking operates this unstaffed location, charging $5 per day for parking. The Lot is open 24 hours a day, and customers provide payment through a mobile webpage accessed by scanning an advertised QR code. Outside a few new signs and a security camera, the site’s operator has done little to clean up the property. The parking facility still appears abandoned, as it has since 2015.

For decades, Kaiser Permanente owned this nearly full-acre corner parcel, most recently using it for staff parking. Nicholas Diamond of Capacity Commercial bought the property in 2015 and has since explored several development opportunities. However, those did not materialize into permitted projects. Now he is interested in earning revenue from the parking lot while considering development plans. “This is not leased nor owned by Universal Parking. Universal Parking was approached to operate this location by the owner and is currently operating this location in an exploratory manner,” explained Dimitri Moustakas, a Universal Parking representative. “We are monitoring this location closely for revenue, use, and any security incidents such as crime or homelessness, which may lead the owner to close this location again. If all goes well without incident, we intend to continue operating until the owner decides to do something else with the property.”

An enforcement patrol randomly monitors the site for parking compliance. However, Universal Parking cautions customers to secure their vehicles. “There is no security, no staff, and parking is always at the parker’s own risk and expense,” said Moustakas. Despite the lack of security, it is a fenced and secluded parking lot that could prove useful to some people, including those relying on street parking. This location is within walking distance of Portland Community College’s SE Campus, where the full-day parking fee is also $5. The success of this location has yet to be determined, and its current appearance could detract from its popularity. However, more frequent use of this property should deter abuse and further decline while it waits for redevelopment.

Parking lot entrance blocked by construction fence taken December 18th, 2024

Update December 18th, 2024: Recently, crews erected a construction fence around the west side of the property blocking parking lot access. This follows an October 31st complaint filed with the City of Portland stating “camping behind the parking lot area. Have a big tent in frontt [sic] of the lot. Had to cut a fence to access the area.” The city closed the report on December 17th.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account for monthly support or you can pay for a full year directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Community, Event, History

Art Explores Local Japanese American History

This Friday, May 5th, people are invited to attend the Furin Project Symposium at Portland Community College’s (PCC) SE Campus. Attendees will see the culmination of a year-long community art project led by artist Midori Hirose and learn more about a project that aims to bridge the Japanese farming history of Southeast Portland with its modern diversity and culture. Since early April, PCC has exhibited a collection of Furin, Japanese “wind bells,” made during free ceramic bell-making workshops. Now, the community can explore three related exhibits, including the work from PCC’s Geographic Information System Club, a Sound Map project, and the Furin wind bells display.

In collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and Mural Arts Institute in Philadelphia, Midori Hirose’s Furin Project involves honoring the history and legacy of the Japanese American Farming community that once thrived in Montavilla and surrounding area. The project centers on the intersection of the current social landscape in relation to food resilience, farming, and green spaces.

People interested in participating should register to save a free spot at the event. Attendees should gather before 4 p.m. near the Learning Garden at 2305 SE 82nd Avenue and then take part in the short walking tour. The event coordinators have created several stopping points for speakers to present, leading up to the Furin exhibit inside the Student Commons building. APANO will host a potluck in their building across SE Division from the PCC campus to wrap up the event.

By

Jacob Loeb

Graphics provided by APANO and the Furin Project