Month: February 2024

Construction, Infrastructure

82nd Ave 60% Draft Concept Design

Update Feb 29th, 2024: PBOT scheduled two in-person events to present the project’s 60% design refinements and collect public comment. Details are provided below and available online for the March 4th and March 13th meetings.

Article originally published February 1st, 2024

In late January, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) released its 60% Draft Concept Design for the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project, which includes $55 million in improvements to the former State Highway. This collection of road and sidewalk reconstruction work will deliver many safety upgrades to the high-crash corridor and provide approximately 250 new trees to an area that suffers from the heat island effect.

For PBOT staff, the 60% designed phase represents a significant milestone for a project. At this point, many of the streetscape attributes are outlined and placed on the map. The transportation bureau has hosted many public meetings with community members and organizations. Then, following the group and individual outreach, staff reworked proposals to adjust design concepts to accommodate access needs. However, this advancement in the planning process does still allow for changes. PBOT encourages people to participate in an informative survey or the two in-person meetings in February and March. City staff will schedule those meetings soon and ask people to visit the project website for updates.

SE 82nd Ave at SE Mill. Image courtesy PBOT

The 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project spans five miles, and the ten-page design document provides an annotated scrolling map view of the work area. It indicates the placement of raised median islands, separators, and signal equipment upgrades. The document marks spaces for tree planting or other foliage with green dots and lighter green lines. Later design work by PBOT will determine the final number of trees planted and the botanical space created. Crews working on this project will build or upgrade 15,000 feet of sidewalk on 82nd Avenue or adjacent side streets and update or replace 200 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps.

Drivers will benefit from the repaving of two segments totaling 2.5 miles of smoother asphalt. Crews will replace the street surface from NE Siskiyou to Schuyler streets and SE Mill Street to SE Foster Road. Crews will completely rebuild the outer two travel lanes in these segments. Most of 82nd Avenue has insufficient base layer support for heavy traffic on the curbside lanes. Historically, they supported street parking, and engineers did not anticipate the current four-travel-lane design.

SE 82nd Ave at SE Harrison. Image courtesy PBOT

Montavilla residents will see a small portion of the repaving planned in this work cycle. However, several in-street elements and sidewalk work will occur in the Neighborhood. Around 200 feet of SE Mill Street east of SE 82nd Avenue will receive new pavement and sidewalks with street trees. PBOT plans to rebuild the sidewalk across 82nd Avenue from the Portland Community College SE campus, connecting to a newly protected mid-block crossing. The enhanced raised center median will have space for street trees and other plantings, allowing roots to spread beyond the confines of typical tree wells. PBOT recently expanded unpaved sections of street median throughout the project in this recent design, making way for better planting zones and reducing the heat radiating from concrete.

SE 82nd Ave at PCC SE Campus. Image courtesy PBOT

PBOT’s designs for the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project provide better driving conditions for drivers, but the majority of work centers on improving conditions for those outside a car. In some places where travel lanes on 82nd Avenue are wider than needed, the transportation bureau intends to extend sidewalks in the roadway and plant street trees. Some design elements reduce opportunities for left-hand turns, aggregating them in safe, predictable locations. Crews will rebuild or replace traffic signals and paint high-visibility crosswalks at many intersections. Cyclists and pedestrians should benefit from more places to safely cross 82nd Avenue, while people traveling along the roadway will have more shade and space away from traffic.

SE 82nd Ave at SE Clinton. Image courtesy PBOT

Crews will complete this phase of work by the end of 2026, but it does not represent the entirety of upgrades planned for this area. The City is developing many more projects related to the jurisdictional transfer of 82nd Avenue from the Oregon Department of Transportation to PBOT. That process came with $185 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, PBOT, and State transportation budgets. City Council will vote on approval for the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project this spring, with construction starting after receiving that final endorsement. People can take the survey through March 31st and participate in the in-person events when PBOT staff schedule them.

Update: PBOT scheduled the in person meetings

By

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article serves on the Building a Better 82nd Community Advisory Group

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Construction, Infrastructure

NE Halsey Safety and Access Project

Construction crews will begin working on improvement projects along NE Halsey Street this summer. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will reshape the busy roadway from NE 69th to 92nd Avenues, reducing travel lanes to make room for bike infrastructure and creating nearly 1,500 feet of new sidewalk on the north side of the street between 85th and 92nd Avenues. Several enhanced pedestrian crossing points along the project path will increase safety, implementing a mini roundabout, flashing beacons, and high visibility crosswalk markings.

The summer 2024 work, currently in the planning phase, combines the efforts of the NE Halsey Street – Safety and Access to Transit Project with the 70s Neighborhood Greenway to improve conditions on the high-traffic street. Drivers will lose one travel lane in each direction between NE 68th and 81st Avenues but gain a center turn lane, aiding in safer left turns. Cyclists will receive bike lanes on both sides of NE Halsey Street from NE 68th 81st Avenues. Riders will transition onto two-way buffered bike lanes on the south side of NE Halsey Street between Jonesmore Street and 92nd Avenue.

Early PBOT lane reconfiguration cross section shows spacing. Note that the 5′ bike lanes are shown as 6′ wide in some more recent design documents

People trying to connect to NE Halsey Street from the NE 82nd Avenue MAX station will see improvements to the existing multiuse path between 81st and 82nd Avenues on the northern edge of Eastern Cathay‘s parking lot. Pedestrians crossing NE Halsey will gain new high-visibility crosswalks at NE 69th, 80th, and 84th Avenues. People crossing the faster-paced street at NE 88th Avenue can use the request button for Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB), signaling drivers to yield. In addition to the new sidewalks, crews working for PBOT will reconstruct curb ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many TriMet Line 77 bus stops along the project path will also see improvements.

2020 rendering of mini roundabout at 80th Ave. Image courtesy of PBOT

Funding for this project includes money for street lighting analysis with an option for additional lighting if needed. The Federal government provided $5,300,000 towards these enhancements. Developers paying Transportation System Development fees contributed $2,580,000 in funding. Because this project spans a Freeway overpass, the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Bridge Program supplied $412,120. Other Portland Bureau funding sources will provide the remaining project costs.

2020 rendering of Intersection at 68th Ave. Image courtesy of PBOT

Funds from the Greenway project will complete the construction of two pedestrian refuge islands and a small raised concrete median on NE Halsey Street. In September, cement masons finished reconstructing sidewalk corners and adding mid-block curb ramps for the 70s Greenway crossing at NE Halsey Street and 76th Avenue. PBOT paused that work last year until crews could remove the existing lane striping and repaint lines in a new configuration. Until that reconfiguration occurs, road crews cannot create the refuge island because it would block part of a travel lane.

Construction drawing of NE Halsey Street and 76th Ave, courtesy PBOT

Planning and funding for the NE Halsey Street improvements have taken years to come to fruition. Residents challenged by the current conditions on this dangerous roadway have advocated for this work for nearly a decade, and they should soon see the results of their work. Expect construction delays on NE Halsey Street this summer, but by the end of the year, people should begin to feel safer traveling through this section of Portland.

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Community, Construction

In the Shadow of Large Scale Infill

Last year, construction began on two homes behind the 1951-era house at 1003 NE 71st Avenue. As framing crews erected the two-story buildings with high-pitched roofs, neighbors became aware of how tall these new houses were, and the shadow cast on their yards this winter was significant. People across the city living next to infill projects are adjusting to Portland’s new development policies that allow full-scale housing in previously unanticipated places. For some, it will alter how they use their homes.

Jessie Killops purchased the 1923-era home north of the development on NE 71st Avenue in late 2015. She and her husband, Brian Giacoppo, work from home and use the backyard to extend their living space. Until recently, all the other homes on the block sat forward on their lots towards the street. Some neighbors have small single-story detached garages or sheds in their backyards. This arrangement allowed for vegetable gardens and other recreational green spaces with decent year-round sunlight.

Land division map from application

Some neighbors have fences demising their property, and others use trees or hedges to create privacy. The new owners of 1003 NE 71st Avenue demolished the detached garage to make space for the two new homes, with the centermost unit taking its place just five feet from the property line. Crews working on the building have removed some of the hedges on the lot’s boundary, and more will likely disappear when carpenters install a new fence.

Killops and Giacoppo lived in housing-dense regions before moving here and support projects that address Portland’s housing shortage. They had hoped this project would support the need for affordable housing with smaller homes similar in size to the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) constructed in area backyards for over a decade. At nearly 1,200 square feet, they feel the developer built these houses to a scale that will sell for more than many families could afford. From the couple’s perspective, these densely packed homes tower over the neighbor’s properties and are prominent from all four sides of the block. The extra deep lot under development places one of the new buildings near the block’s center point with views into all the surrounding properties.

People have often experienced the conflict between the needs of existing neighbors and new development. Before Portland’s most recent zoning and land division code updates, developers knocked down smaller homes, building larger houses, townhomes, or other multi-family units that filled lots to capacity. The new Middle Housing Land Division rules make it more profitable for developers to split lots with added single-family housing. This infill process has the added benefit of preserving the original street-facing home and neighborhood appearance while increasing housing inventory. However, for those living next to these developments, the change can substantially impact how they use their homes.

Shadow over the garden seen at noon

Portlanders should no longer assume conditions will remain the same around their property, even in older neighborhoods. Oregon’s housing production goal seeks to build 36,000 additional units annually, and many of those homes will come from infill development. This growth strategy can create conflicts between residential amenities and other Portland values. Filling backyards with houses can reduce the urban tree canopy. Removing onsite parking options while adding households without investing in alternative transportation methods congest street parking. And those who grow food in their yards contend with the shade cast by neighboring structures. Killops and Giacoppo will adjust to their new living situation, moving their garden to find the available sunlight and planting taller foliage along the fence line. They hope these added homes and others like it will help the housing crises, but they feel it important that people understand that a Cottage Cluster Middle Housing Land Division can create full-sized homes, and it is easy to become boxed in by new neighbors. Not all infill projects stand as tall or impose on the neighboring homes as significantly as the units on NE 71st Avenue. However, many neighbors to infill will need to similarly adjust to Portland’s new housing density in the coming years.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Construction, Infrastructure

MAX Work Disrupts Road and Rail Usage

January’s winter storm delayed track and station work underway around the Gateway Transit Center, extending the TriMet MAX light rail disruption. The Gateway Transit Center will remain closed another week, reopening March 4th. When completed, riders will no longer have to use shuttle buses to detour around construction on the Red, Green, and Blue MAX Lines. However, on March 16th, Blue Line passengers in Hillsboro will need to use shuttle buses between Orenco Station and Hatfield Government Center. Regular Blue Line service resumes on March 25th, 2024.

Article originally published January 10th, 2024

Crews working for TriMet will close the Gateway Transit Center for MAX riders from January 14th through February 25th to complete line improvements and rail maintenance. Heavy civil infrastructure contractor Stacy Witbeck has already closed westbound car and bike lanes on E Burnside Street at NE 99th Avenue to stage repair work. Transit riders can use shuttle buses to navigate around the closures, and drivers can use NE Glisan Street when driving west.

The disruption allows for work on the airport leg of the A Better Red project and other track maintenance. For over a month, MAX Blue line trains will transition to shuttle bus service from NE 7th Avenue to the E 102nd Avenue stations. Green line riders will transition to shuttle buses between the Gateway Transit Center and the SE Main Street station. TriMet will suspend the MAX Red Line during this project phase, with the shuttle bus service replacing the Gateway Transit Center to the Portland International Airport leg of the route. TriMet will operate shuttle buses frequently, arriving at stops every 7 to 15 minutes during regular operating hours.

Graphics courtesy TriMet

On January 8th, crews working on a critical turn in the MAX Blue line closed westbound E Burnside Street from the Interstate 205 overpass to NE 99th Avenue. They have also blocked off a segment of NE 97th Avenue to stage rail and road crossing plates. Trades people are currently shaping the rail that will replace the east/west track turn to north/south travel. Workers will also remove and replace the plates in the street around the rails that allow automobiles to drive over them. Permits allow street blocking work to last until February 9th, but construction could conclude sooner or require a road closure extension.

As part of this work, construction barricades now block the NE 97th and E Burnside entrance to the I-205 Multi-use Path. However, further north along the path, riders and walkers have regained direct north/south access. During the previous A Better Red construction phases, Multi-use Path travelers needed to take an asphalt track around construction equipment. Recently, crews opened access to a newly paved concrete path with a gradual curve that reconnects the existing bike and pedestrian road. Cement masons added a west side open gutter to help channel water off the path, and electricians wired new overhead lighting into the underside of the overhead rail bridge. Both enhancements make this rebuilt segment safer for users. Construction equipment still borders the multimodel thoroughfare, but people no longer need to slow down and navigate complicated detours.

In addition to the rail and street work occurring over the next month, crews will continue construction on the new Gateway North MAX station platform. That station work will also enhance access to Portland’s Gateway Green Park via a freeway overpass bridge. All the repair and expansion work closures support faster, more efficient, MAX light-rail service. When completed, people will have a better transit system with fewer interruptions to service. During this transit system disruption, riders should anticipate some trips taking longer than usual. Trimet encourages people to consider using other forms of transportation during the January 14th through February 25th closure if shuttle buses do not meet their needs.

Gateway North MAX station platform

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Food and Drink, New Business, Restaurant

Quiche Me if You Can Opening in March

By the end of March, Quiche Me if You Can restaurant will open in the former Sebastiano‘s space at 411 SE 81st Avenue. Owner Christa Voytilla will take over the shop on March 1st and begin reshaping the space with an indoor service counter and quiche-focused kitchen. Since 2019, the farmers’ market chef has grown her business and is now expanding into the company’s first brick-and-mortar location. Although the new Montavilla storefront will become the central home for Quiche Me if You Can, they will retain their farmers market roots.

Christa Voytilla started selling her culinary creations while working as a full-time nanny during the day and a waitress in the evening. Having worked in the food service industry since age 16, she knows how to cook and developed a passion for baking quiches. That personal interest soon attracted attention and launched her current career. “I was bringing these little quiches to the Barrio at the Portland Mercado, spending time with the community there, and I got close with the owner, Chris Shimamoto,” recalled Voytilla. A regular Barrio customer noticed the baked goods and asked to sample one of her quiches, offering to pay. Seeing an interest and receiving an enthusiastic review of her food, Voytilla wondered if this personal passion could evolve into a business. Shimamoto encouraged her to explore it further and use the Portland Mercado’s resources for small businesses. “I wanted to stop waitressing and do something more for myself,” explained Voytilla, and this was the opening she needed. With the direction from a business advisor at the Portland Mercado and access to the Portland Mercado Commissary Kitchen, Quiche Me if You Can started selling food at a farmers market in November 2019.

Courtesy Quiche Me if You Can

For the last four years, people have found Quiche Me if You Can at farmers markets all over Portland, including Lloyd, South Waterfront, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Hollywood, PSU, Woodstock, Moreland, and the Montavilla Farmers Market. The markets are a place to sell to customers and also where this chef finds her ingredients. “We source all of our produce from the farmers market, explained Voytilla. She built lasting relationships with egg farmer Trent Family Farms and shiitake supplier Mindful Mushrooms during the early years working the markets. “I’m pretty loyal to our farmers, and they’re loyal back,” remarked Voytilla.

The mutually beneficial relationship with the market community is essential to Quiche Me if You Can’s past success and future operation. “I’m definitely still going to do farmers markets. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them, and I think there’s such an excellent opportunity to meet new customers and stay connected,” said Voytilla. However, the market-based business has limits, and after years of expansion, Quiche Me If You Can needed to adjust the model. “I’ve been looking for my own space because, as your business grows, it is easy to outgrow the commissary kitchen, and it becomes challenging to find enough time to produce your products. Sharing hours and space is possible, but it’s more of a challenge as your business grows,” explained Voytilla.

Quiche Me if You Can’s owner Christa Voytilla. Courtesy Quiche Me if You Can

After two years of looking for a dedicated kitchen, Christa Voytilla received a tip about the Sebastiano’s storefront and jumped at the opportunity. “I heard about it before they made the [move] announcement public, and I knew in my heart that the space was right for me,” said Voytilla. The small restaurant on SE 81st Avenue is perfectly sized for Quiche Me if You Can. They expect to cook all menu items in the shop, and although the restaurant will not offer indoor seating, they will make room for people to order and wait inside. “I am excited to open up the space for people to come in for the first time in -I don’t know how long- because it’s been strictly window service at Sebastiano’s,” explained Voytilla.

Quiche Me if You Can’s chef is still working on setting the menu and hours for the new location. However, Voytilla intends to emulate Sebastiano’s schedule so customers have a seamless experience eating at that location. Patrons can expect various quiches on the menu, changing seasonally and served in 4-inch petite versions, slices, or whole full-sized quiches. The menu will also offer gluten-free waffles, from-scratch soups, and sandwiches. Voytilla will not expand the menu drastically until they hire staff and settle into the new format. Since 2019, Christa Voytilla has worked the business alone with occasional help from her boyfriend, Jared Hacmac, who will increase his involvement at the new shop. Knowing that the store will require more support than the two can offer, Quiche Me if You Can is now looking to hire staff.

Courtesy Quiche Me if You Can
Courtesy Quiche Me if You Can

This restaurant is a Portland Mercado success story. That group offers affordable retail space and a cultural platform for Latinx and other entrepreneurs to start or grow a business. The non-profit organization and Barrio recently suffered a fire on January 3rd, 2024. They have raised funds to rebuild, and the many food carts outside the main building are open. However, they can always use continued support from the community, and Barrio still has its fundraiser underway. Look for Quiche Me if You Can to open its first permanent location next month and watch the company’s Instagram for details about their grand opening.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Construction, Demolition, Infrastructure, View of Montavilla

City to Demolish House for New Street

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will demolish a 1951-era single-family residence to build a new segment of NE Davis Street. The city purchased the 700-square-foot single-story home at 205 NE 100th Avenue and three other vacant lots to construct a two-block street between NE 97th and 100th Avenues. This work is part of a Local Improvement District (LID) set to rebuild roads and add sidewalks ahead of redevelopment in the Gateway District.

Portland Maps illustration showing street improvements and property boundaries

The LID work will take place in two phases beginning in Fall 2024. Most improvements will occur on NE 97th Avenue north of E Burnside Street. Crews will repave the street and add sidewalks to this currently curbless segment of roadway. Cement masons will install Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps at each new intersection, and lighting crews will install new street lights along the updated sections of NE 97th Avenue, NE Couch Street, and NE Davis Street. During the first construction phase, PBOT will build one block of NE Davis Street from NE 97th to 99th Avenue. In Spring 2025, crews will begin the second phase of construction, extending NE Davis Street from NE 99th to 100th Avenue and creating a new one-block segment of NE Couch Street from NE 97th to 99th Avenue.

Funding for the LID comes from adjacent property owners and other government sources. At formation, the total budget was $14,585,083. LID funding accounted for $9,770,408. PBOT provided $2 million from collected System Development Charges and $800,000 from other PBOT budgets. Prosper Portland contributed the remaining $2 million. PBOT paid $2,336,712 for the four lots that will become NE Davis Street. Land left over from those lots not used for road construction will revert to the adjacent property owners.

PBOT provided graphic

PBOT will construct these new streets to modern standards with roadways that are 36 feet wide and sidewalks on both sides of the street. The pedestrian area will offer a 6-foot wide through zone and a 4-foot planting strip between the sidewalk and curb. The LID will also create a new marked crosswalk on E Burnside Street across Interstate 205. This crossing will help pedestrians and cyclists travel across E Burnside Street to connect with the I-205 Multiuse Path. BPOT intends to reconstruct the traffic signal at NE 97th Avenue and E Burnside Street, including new crosswalks.

PBOT does not often create new streets in an established neighborhood. Housing developments like those planned for this area often use private driveways and parking lots to grant residents access. Private streetscapes are not always designed with adequate sidewalks and are not open for public use. This extension of these streets will repair the grid and offer Portlanders better east/west access by all modes of travel. The developments within these newly defined blocks will benefit from the new streets, as will everyone traveling through this area. Look for work to begin later this year.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Construction, Infrastructure

A New Path Over the Tracks

Heavy civil infrastructure contractor Stacy Witbeck recently replaced MAX tracks and adjacent road crossing panels where trains turn north from E Burnside Street to travel along Interstate 205. For years, westbound bicycle riders and sidewalk users have navigated the uneven surface in the bike lane and the at-grade pedestrian path at this crossing. Asphalt around the panels buckled with constant light-rail traffic shifting the track. The project repaired the automotive and bike lane rail-crossings but severed the north sidewalk connection with barricades blocking access. Instead, pedestrians will eventually cross the tracks from the nearby Interstate 205 Multiuse Path. Until the new rail crossing opens, people can cross E Burnside at the newly reconstructed 97th Avenue crosswalk and use the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street.

Developers made this redesigned crossing alignment public in a 2019 Design Commission Hearing for the 97th and Couch Apartments. The illustration includes a parklet at the intersection’s northwest corner, replacing the current I-205 Multiuse Path and leading people to a perpendicular track crossing from the sidewalk. The multi-family housing plans may have changed in the five years since they were approved. However, the pedestrian crossing panels installed by TriMet this month are in roughly the same location as the 2019 documents indicated. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) needs to realign the sidewalk on both sides of the track to connect with the updated crossing location. Diagrams for a Local Improvement District (LID) project planned for later this year include this new crossing realignment.

Site plan as presented to the Design Commission for the 97th and Couch Apartments (North is to the right)

When westbound E Burnside Street reopens later this month, cyclists and drivers will have a smoother crossing over the MAX tracks. Pedestrians will need to wait for PBOT to complete sidewalk connections to use the new safer crossing that allows pedestrians to cross in a location with better visibility to approaching light-rail trains. That minor inconvenience should allow for improved pedestrian routes and help Multiuse Path users connect to the southern segment across the I-205 Freeway overpass.

Future path across the MAX tracks

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Food and Drink, New Business, Restaurant, View of Montavilla

Happy Lemon Opening in Fubonn

A new Happy Lemon tea shop will open in the Fubonn Shopping Center within the next few months. The former insurance agency storefront at 2850 SE 82nd Avenue, Suite 8, will transform into a brightly colored tea and bubble waffle restaurant offering dine-in tables and counter service. When it opens, it will be the fourth store in the Portland Metro area and the only location on the east side of the Willamette River.

Rendering of Happy Lemon store courtesy Jian Xu

Happy Lemon franchise owner Jian Xu became a fan of the brand after discovering their Bridgeport Village location during a search for flavors from Xu’s childhood. “Lemon tea is one of the most popular drinks in China because it’s tasty and refreshing. Growing up in China, my friends and I would always grab a lemon tea after school. The drink would make us feel energized and cool us down in the hot weather. When I moved here, I couldn’t find good lemon tea until I found out about Happy Lemon,” explained Xu. In addition to its Fresh Lemon line of tea flavors, Happy Lemon is known for its Salted Cheese tea and hexagon-shaped bubble waffles. The company also features classic milk tea with boba variants.

Rendering of Happy Lemon store courtesy Jian Xu

Since 2006, Happy Lemon has grown its network of franchise locations across Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. By 2014, they expanded globally with stores in 21 countries, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Dubai, and the United States. Xu decided to open this new Happy Lemon at Fubonn because it is centrally located and well-known by the community. “I want to bring it closer and share it with everyone here in Portland,” remarked Xu.

The new Happy Lemon sits in an externally accessed storefront to the right of the main Fubonn entrance. Xu expects to open by late April. However, it is still under construction, and buildout delays could shift that date. When ready, the Fubonn Happy Lemon location will greet guests daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Expect to see updates about the official opening date in April.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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.

Construction, New Residence

SE Clay Apartments Become Townhomes

Plans have changed again for the 35-foot wide lot at 8416 SE Clay Street. Provision Investments purchased the property in April 2021 after the previous owners split it from the parcel to the west. In early 2022, the new owners proposed a nine-unit, three-story-tall apartment building. By March 2023, the owners listed the property for sale with approved plans to develop the multi-family housing. On February 1st, Provision Construction changed course and filed building permit applications to construct four two-story townhouses at the site. Address changes to reflect the four residences are pending.

Image from Portland Maps

The four townhomes are planned for a gravel-covered, unimproved segment of SE Clay Street. Three homes will offer around 920 square feet of living space, with the remaining unit slightly larger at 1,000 square feet. A shared walkway will provide access to the back residences. The city has addressed the additional townhomes as 8418 SE Clay Street, 8420 SE Clay Street, and 8422 SE Clay Street. Permits have the development sharing a single property, but a Middle Housing Land Division filed after construction begins could create four distinct properties for each new home.

Unimproved segment of SE Clay Street, the property is located on the right side behind the taller hedge

These homes will not support attached garages, and the site lacks room for onsite parking. Its location near SE 82nd Avenue makes it a good location for transit riders, but the absence of sidewalks and paved roads makes it challenging for non-drivers. When permits are approved, construction could begin as early as this year. However, this site has taken years to develop, and it may take a few more years before new neighbors can move into the homes.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account 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, Construction, New Residence

Glisan Landing Buildings Become Montavilla’s Tallest

This week, the two low-income buildings at NE 74th Avenue and Glisan Street became Montavilla’s tallest structures. Construction crews recently completed the roof framing atop the fourth floor, redefining the neighborhood’s skyline. Future residents of the upper floors will have unobstructed views of Mt. Tabor and the mostly low-slung streetscape surrounding this site. This development marks a change to area housing height and density with 137 new residences in a half-block site.

View South of Mt Tabor from Aldea unit

The two distinct apartment buildings under construction form Glisan Landing and serve different needs in the affordable housing market. Aldea is the larger of the two, spanning the entire width of a block between NE 74th and 75th Avenues in a “U” shape configuration. The building features 96 homes ranging in size from studios to four-bedroom units. Property managers will reserve 81 apartments for people making at or below the 60% median family income (MFI) level for Portland, with the remaining available to those earning 30% MFI. Beacon is a bar-shaped building on a quarter-acre lot carved out of the complex’s northwest corner. This building has 41 Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units for those who were recently homeless or housing insecure. The structures encircle a center courtyard containing a play area and exercise loop.

Fiber and textile arts studio

The architects of this project placed all housing above the ground floor. Two parking garages under the southern portion of Aldea at Glisan Landing offer 56 stalls. Vehicle access parking on NE 74th or 75th Avenues. The northeast corner of the building next to the NE 75th Avenue garage contains culturally specific building amenities. The building’s co-owner, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), will anchor Aldea’s community space with a fiber and textile art studio in the corner room looking out onto NE Glisan Street. Residents can also access an adjacent multicultural reading room, teen room, and property management office. Designers placed a gated open wall courtyard facing NE 75th Avenue. The green space is accessed through the lobby, providing residents a secluded outdoor space. Over half of the units in this building have multiple bedrooms, providing the family-sized apartments often overlooked in affordable housing.

Planners placed the main entrance to both structures off NE Glisan Street in the gap between the new buildings. Site operators intend to keep gates to the property open during daytime hours when staff are in the resident services office facing the entrance. Although separate projects, Related Northwest is the co-owner and development partner for both buildings. That relationship helps create a cohesive site plan with shared resources and a communal space.

Beacon at Glisan Landing is co-owned by Catholic Charities and features the only storefront space in the complex. Non-profit Stone Soup will offer a barista and culinary training program from the ground-floor shop with a cafe open to the public. The northwest corner will have bar seating against big windows looking onto NE Glisan with bistro seating outside. Catholic Charities will provide case management and services to PSH tenants living on the three floors above the cafe. Each of the 41 studio apartments features tall ceilings and deep storage areas. The building provides a table, chairs, and a durable bed designed by Central City Concern in each unit. Beacon offers several Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant units accessed by an elevator, providing accessible housing for seniors and those with special mobility needs. 

View from Stone Soup cafe

Completing the vertical structure of a building is a significant construction milestone. It is the beginning of a shift to interior work and lets the community see the new structure’s placement in the skyline. Although four stories is not tall for city-scale buildings, these new structures stand above all others in the neighborhood and signal a new high-water mark for development. Crews with LMC Construction have many months of work ahead of them as developers expect them to complete Beacon this year and open Aldea to residents in 2025.

Article and phots by

Jacob Loeb

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