The new owner of a corner lot at 9144 SE Alder Street will construct three new townhomes on the backside of an existing 1947-era single-family residence. Each new townhouse will offer residents around 1,400 square feet of living space spanning three levels. The new homes will contain three bedrooms with two-and-a-half bathrooms. Units will face SE 92nd Avenue and receive addresses on that street.

The property’s owner, James Kosta, describes the new structures as two and a half stories tall, with the third bedroom in the standing-height attic area. Dormers looking out onto SE 92nd Avenue will provide additional upper-level floor space and scenic views. Kosta’s BW Construction company has built housing east of Interstate 205 for many years, and they are now expanding to areas west thanks to the zoning code changes implemented by Portland officials in the Residential Infill Project. That package of code updates allows additional housing on most lots in the City.

Kosta has spent the last 50 years building homes and is a proponent of affordable housing construction. His company often utilizes Portland’s program that offers builder tax abatement incentives to create new homes priced in the middle of the housing market. The three units will sell to buyers earning at or below the median family income (MFI) level for a four-person household, which is $116,900 as of April 2024. The income restriction will adjust upward for larger families. The program also caps townhome prices at $455,000 as of 2024. However, units can sell for less based on market interest from qualifying home buyers. Income limits and the sale price cap adjust annually based on median home sales and Portland Metropolitan area income reports evaluated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

BW Construction is a family-owned company based in Oregon. James Kosta’s daughter is a partner in the housing development business. They do not plan on using Middle Housing Land division for this project at SE 92nd Avenue and Alder Street. The homes will sell as condominiums with a small Home Owners Association (HOA) covering shared property costs. Permit applications do not include additional on-site parking for this development, but the corner lot has curbside parking along both streets. Building permit approval timelines and other considerations will push the start of construction into 2025. When completed, the new homes will add family housing options just three blocks from a park and school while maintaining the existing house.

---

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account or you can pay directly online. 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.