Work is underway on two common-wall homes at NE 90th Avenue and Everett Street, each with an attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). The residences feature unique floor plans with a split-level layout over three floors. A single-car garage and driveway in front of each house offer some onsite parking for the residents.
Unlike many common-wall developments, 8955 NE Everett Street and 8957 NE Everett Street do not share a similar floor plan, although they have roughly the same features. The garage and entryway are at grade level, and the owner’s suites sit above. Those large bedrooms feature tray ceilings, double vanity ensuite bathrooms, and walk-in closets. A short flight of stairs leads up from the entryway to the open-floor-plan main level that stands six feet above the ground floor in the back half of the building. Stairs leading up to the top floor have a mid-rise platform allowing access to the owner’s suite. Two bedrooms and a full bathroom occupy the uppermost level of both homes. One unit has a full laundry room, while the other offers a side-by-side laundry closet.
Side view of foundation showing entrance retaining wall for 8957 NE Everett Streets ADU
Below both houses are daylight basement ADUs, built only two and a half feet below grade. These one-bedroom units have a stacked laundry closet, a full bathroom, and a single-wall kitchen. With most of the ADU unit’s walls above ground, they support many full-sized windows that should offer natural light. Discrete ADU side entrances should give those tenets privacy and autonomy from the residents above. The architect’s placement of large back decks six and a half feet above the backyard, and staggered from north to south, also adds to the separation of living space.
The architect on this project, Thogerson Designs, has drawn from mid-20th century inspirations while using modern shifting of design elements to break up the building’s massing. The common-wall structure will share a cohesive appearance but still clearly define each residence. The number of stairs residents must traverse in a day is perhaps the only detractor from the chosen layout. Otherwise, it offers a creative way to blend housing density into a traditionally single-family area of Montavilla.
View into the front of the homes looking north
Update July 22nd, 2023: Crews have completed framing and work will soon transition to interior projects.
Update November 25th, 2023: Exterior work is finished and the project should be nearing completion soon.
Provision Investments is seeking a buyer for its 35-foot wide lot at 8416 SE Clay Street. The offer includes permitted plans for a three-story nine-unit apartment building. The project, proposed in 2022, could provide three studio and six one-bedroom residences ranging in size from 358 to 505 square feet. The property’s purchaser could opt not to build the planned multifamily building. However, the sellers priced it as a development-ready project, financially incentivizing a new owner to construct it as proposed.
Unimproved segment of SE Clay Street
This undeveloped lot was previously attached to 8406 SE Clay Street before its sale in April 2021. The proposed multifamily building would have featured a communal bike room and internal trash facilities. The Real Estate Flyer for the listing show plans supporting an internal stairwell with most units accessed from interior hallways. Permits and listing documents do not mention onsite parking, and at just 3,500 square feet, there is likely insufficient space to support automobile storage. This segment of SE Clay street is an under-improved road with no sidewalks or curbs, limiting curbside parking in this area. However, residents could utilize the 72 TriMet bus line within 900 feet of this apartment building.
Those interested in taking on this development should contact Darryl Bodle II with Keller Williams Realty at 503-709-4632. Property details are available on Zillow, including some building plans and site photographs. Any future work on this project will likely wait until the current owners sell this property. However, the development of this vacant Residential Multi-Dwelling zoned lot is all but certain.
Image from Portland Maps
By
Jacob Loeb
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In the summer of 2021, REEF Technology expanded its network of mobile ghost kitchens across Portland, adding one cluster in Montavilla along SE 82nd Avenue. The Miami-based company bet big on delivery-only food service, a decision that seemed prophetic during the pandemic. However, that early success did not last and was particularly unsustainable in Portland. Now all locations are closed, with most former sites cleared of the brand’s equipment. Only one ghost kitchen cart remains at 1133 SE 82nd Avenue. It is locked up, and the NBRHD.com website that once solicited new clients is offline.
REEF site at 1133 SE 82nd Avenue in 2021
As reported by Sophie Peel in the Willamette Week, REEF Technology recently ceased most, if not all, operations in Portland. Several years ago, the company’s business model was seen as the future of food service thanks to the popularity of app-based delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Postmates. The company leveraged a nationwide network of parking lots into delivery service hubs that offered low rent and easy access. Each food cart ghost kitchen could prepare food under various brands, cutting labor costs and flooding delivery apps with an onslaught of culinary options. The December 26th cover story in the Willamette Week detailed the troubled Portland rollout by REEF Technology. That article noted that many large brands had recently severed ties with the ghost kitchen prover, including Jack in the Box, Burger King, and Popeyes.
Ghost kitchens were not an invention of REEF Technology, nor are they likely to disappear entirely from the landscape of American dining due to this recent setback. A detailed analysis of this model will one day explain the rapid rise and fall of REEF Technology’s Neighborhood Kitchens brand. However, for now, most Portlanders selecting food for delivery will find they come from a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
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Work on the Jacksons convenience store and gas station at 515 NE 82nd Avenue closed one lane on NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street as crews construct new sidewalks around two sides of the 40,250 square foot property. Construction of the new fueling station pumps and retail building is nearing completion, and now cement masons will build wider walkways around the site. The southbound TriMet 72 bus stop in front of the property is closed during this phase of the project. Riders can use the temporary stop across NE Glisan Street by Washman Auto Spa.
Over the following weeks, one southbound lane of NE 82nd Avenue and one westbound lane of NE Glisan Street are closed to traffic near the property. Sidewalks detour pedestrians onto the roadway to bypass the construction. However, until workers complete the new walkway, it is recommended that people use the opposite sidewalks while walking in this area. In addition to the expanded sidewalks with fewer curb cuts to navigate, pedestrians will soon have a corner public plaza to rest at.
Site Plan as presented to the Montavilla Neighborhood Association by PM Design Group, courtesy Jacksons.
This location will soon become safer for people thanks to an expanded pedestrian realm and a reduction in places where a vehicle crosses the sidewalk. Developers reduced curb cuts into this area in half, taking six entry points down to three and pushing them away from the corner crosswalk zone. The project designers also relocated the convenience store closer to the sidewalk so shoppers not traveling by car can have safe entry. Expect construction to continue into summer, with a store opening date later this year.
TriMet 72 bus stop temporary relocated on the south side of NE Glisan in front of Washman
By
Jacob Loeb
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McGuirl Designs & Architecture recently announced plans to create a 30-unit apartment complex at 33 SE 83rd Avenue. The two-building development will replace an existing single-family residence and an adjacent empty lot with three floors of housing. Both buildings will support nine two-bedroom and six one-bedroom units evenly dispersed on each level. Residents will access apartments on the upper floors through exterior stairwells that lead to a central walkway between the structures.
Two-story home to be demolished if development proceeds
The layout and scope of this 19,284-square-foot project could change significantly before work begins. In 2018, the previous owners of this property proposed an eight-unit apartment building. During that early development work, demolition crews removed a detached storage structure from the now vacant lot. That project did not succeed, and in the summer of 2020, Montavilla Green LLC bought the home with the undeveloped parcel. The new owners have not yet submitted demolition permits for the 1946-era home or building permits for the two new multi-family buildings. However, the architect has made the required notice to the neighborhood association, indicating there is momentum behind this proposal.
Portland Maps image with MV News illustration
This property is next to and behind commercial properties in a Commercial Mixed Use 2 zone that promotes this type of development. The site is close to the intersection of 82nd Avenue and Burnside Street, making it an ideal location for public transit users. It will also provide protected bike parking for residents who want to use that mode of transportation. This development will contain inclusionary housing units as required in projects with more than 19 units. Look for the developer to submit building permits later this year, with work likely beginning in 2024 or later.
Empty lot where detached garage once stood
By
Jacob Loeb
Disclosure: The author of this article serves on the board of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association.
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Crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will rebuild several corners on SE Stark street at the intersections of SE 88th, 89th, and 90th Avenues. Work will demolish the existing corners and curb ramps, replacing them with updated versions that better meet city standards for accessible infrastructure. City staff will relocate and upgrade storm drains at many of the corners, preventing flooding at the ramp’s edge. This section of SE Stark Street lacks consistent sidewalks. Consequentially, some new corners will lead to unpaved paths.
Northwest corner of SE 89th Avenue and Stark Street
Developers of the two properties fronted on SE Stark Street between SE 89th and 90th Avenues neglected to install sidewalks. Building codes did not require pedestrian infrastructure at the time of construction. Instead, the front of the properties features mature trees and a degraded asphalt parking lot. Recently one of the businesses closed, while the Filipino American Association uses the other building for their events. Complete sidewalk infill on this block will likely wait until substantial work on the adjacent property triggers mandatory curb reconstruction. However, the new corners should help people transition from the street to a flat surface before traveling through the parking lot.
Image from Portland Maps with illustrations by Montavilla News
These improvements are a small step towards making a pedestrian-friendly path along this major roadway. Work will likely occur sometime this summer, depending on crew availability. When construction begins, pedestrians should favor the south side of SE Stark Street to bypass any sidewalk closures.
Northeast corner of SE 89th Avenue and Stark StreetNorthwest corner of SE 89th Avenue and Stark StreetNorthwest corner of SE 90th Avenue and Stark Streetshowing some sidewalk construction
By
Jacob Loeb
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The Pathfinder Network will unveil its newest substance addiction recovery center on March 29th at an Open House event. This Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act (Measure 110) funded location will aid those seeking peer support services for addiction recovery. The Resilience & Recovery Project office is located at 7901 NE Glisan Street and is open to individuals 18 and older in Multnomah County with current or prior justice-system involvement.
This recovery location is six blocks from the Pathfinder Network’s Oregon headquarters and Center for Family Success at 7305 NE Glisan Street. This new site’s proximity to the organization’s other resources and its central location in Portland’s Eastside made it an ideal spot for the Resilience & Recovery Project – Multnomah County, according to Kiley Yuthas, Marketing & Communications Manager for the Pathfinder Network. “One of the amazing parts about this location is if there are services that we do not offer at this location, but we do offer in our Center for Family Success, we can have a peer walk these [six] blocks with somebody, introduce them one-on-one to whoever is going to be able to support them and get them involved with other wrap-around services,” remarked Yuthas. She explained that both locations offer different programs, but people’s needs often overlap. “Referrals go both ways,” said Yuthas.
Nearly two years ago, the Pathfinder Network relocated to Montavilla. The new site allowed the services group to merge their Downtown Portland offices with the Center for Family Success, previously located on SE 122nd. However, this Glisan street center is just one of eighteen locations in Oregon, nine of which are inside penitentiaries. For thirty years, the organization has served the needs of people navigating the post-conviction system. “The Pathfinder Network was founded in 1993, and our mission is to provide tools and support to individuals and families who are impacted by the criminal justice system,” explained Leticia Longoria-Navarro, Executive Director of the organization. Their work often begins within Oregon’s corrections facilities and extends post-release. “Most of the programming that happens in the institution is cognitive behavioral groups. The goal is to provide folks support and services through group-based intervention so that they can get the knowledge that they need to be able to start planning for their reentry,” said Longoria-Navarro. Beyond prison-based support, the Pathfinder Network has programs to guide people on parole or probation. “We have a suite of different community-based programs that are really focused on providing support to the individuals that are impacted by the system as well as their children and families. We know there are just a ton of barriers that people experience with involvement in the criminal justice system, and we also know that people are connected with other systems at the same time. Whether it be mental health, substance abuse, or child welfare. So our goal is to try to help reduce some of those barriers and increase access to resources.” Pathfinder Network staff is not necessarily the services provider but instead works to direct people to resources that can help.
Traditionally, this type of work centers on the person preparing for reentry into the community and expands to include the individual’s family after release. However, Longoria-Navarro explained that this is starting to change. “The majority of our programs are really focused on the individual who’s incarcerated, but we have evolved and expanded our programs to start that support for both the children and families when they’re still incarcerated.” The organization considers family support an essential part of the program, providing an intervention for children who are often collateral damage in the criminal justice system.
Playroom at the Pathfinder Network
Over the last three years, the Pathfinder Network has expanded its efforts to include substance addiction recovery support for those with mandatory treatment requirements and those looking to overcome their dependence on drugs. This avenue of services has expanded over the last three years due to funding from Measure 110. In 2020, voters approved a ballot measure to reclassify personal drug possession offenses to Class E violations that result in a $100 fine. That fine is waived if the person completes a health assessment at an addiction recovery center. It also redirects funds from the Oregon Marijuana Account to drug treatment and recovery services intending to handle the new influx of people seeking a health assessment or treatment.
It has taken years for the treatment side of Measure 110 to roll out to communities, while the decriminalization part of the program was immediately evident. However, Kiley Yuthas explained that the Pathfinder Network began working on growing these facilities early on. “This is the 5th location of our Resilience & Recovery Project in Oregon. We have three locations in Jackson County right now in Medford. That was our first location to open in 2021. And since then, we have expanded to two other offices down there in 2022. We opened the Resilience & Recovery Project – Marion County down in Salem, and now we’re opening this one.”
The need for more recovery locations is immense, and it is sometimes hampered by finding enough staff to guide those seeking treatment. “We’ll continue to grow rapidly, and if anyone wants to work in peer support, they should check out our jobs page,” said Yuthas, noting that personal history is an important part of the role. “One of the amazing things about our Resilience & Recovery Project is that all of our peers have lived experience of recovery and systems involvement. So they can say, ‘I have been in this position, and I took these steps, or I can support you in these ways to get you to a similar outcome as what I have achieved.’ so the qualifications for becoming a peer are to have two years of successful recovery and some experience navigating systems.”
Drop in resources area at the Resilience & Recovery Project with shared computer and literature
The Resilience & Recovery Project’s open house begins at 11 a.m. next Wednesday, with a short program introducing the space at 11:30. The peer program manager will speak about her experience, hopes, and goals for the program. Then one of the parent partners will talk about her experience coming to the Pathfinder Network as a participant and transitioning into a parent partner role. From noon until 2 p.m., the organization invites the public to look at the space and meet some of the people working to break addictions and make the criminal justice system a program of reform.
By
Jacob Loeb
Correction March 23rd, 2023: A previous version of this article said they were in operation for 20 years instead of 30 years. We regret this error.
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Last week began and ended with community meetings regarding the placement of alternative outdoor shelters in Montavilla. Meeting attendees expressed mixed support for the temporary housing program, and a significant number of residents voiced their disappointment with County communication regarding these shelter projects. Elected officials presented at both gatherings, but many community members’ concerns remain unanswered as the area residents wait for Multnomah County to engage in public conversations.
Organizers scheduled the two meetings soon after The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed that a 5.8-acre Volunteers of America (VOA) Oregon property could become an alternative outdoor shelter for up to 150 people experiencing houselessness. However, those early conversations did not produce a short-term lease for 8815 NE Glisan Street, and City staff will continue searching for locations outside of Montavilla. Some residents were concerned that this section of Portland was taking on an undue burden from government groups looking to address the housing emergency. At the end of December, Montavilla News broke the story that Multnomah County purchased two automotive sales lots along SE 82nd Avenue, with at least one location becoming an outdoor alternative shelter. The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) recently announced that Straightway Services will operate a Safe Park alternative shelter at 333 SE 82nd Avenue.
The Safe Park model allows Portlanders experiencing vehicular homelessness to park and utilize their vehicles for shelter. The fully managed site will provide safety, sanitation, and case management to invited residents looking to transition off the street. Shelter rules prohibit Recreational Vehicle (RV) parking and unsanctioned camping at this location. The nonprofit provider, Straightway Services, will maintain staff onsite at all hours of the day and be responsible for managing the location’s residents. The site is already fenced and awaiting the demolition of the former sales office. JOHS staff expect residents to move in later this year.
JOHS has not announced plans for the second County-owned site at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue. However, they have indicated it will also address the shelter needs of the unhoused. Montavilla already hosts a County supported alternative outdoor shelter called Beacon Village, north of NE Glisan Street. That location is widely considered a successful implementation, and the County often cites it as an example in its communications. When these two new 82nd Avenue locations open, the County will have three alternative outdoor shelters within close proximity to each other, prompting questions from neighborhood residents about site selection diversity.
Mayor Ted Wheeler speaking at the March 18th, 2023, town hall
Saints Peter & Paul Episcopal Church hosted a Stand for Compassion gathering on Sunday, March 12th. Multnomah County Commissioner Diane Rosenbaum and State Representative Khanh Pham spoke briefly at the event. Over a dozen community members attended the gathering that focused on engaging in supportive conversations around the Safe Park site. Most attendees of this meeting felt hopeful about the program and appreciated that some new models of shelter support were coming to the neighborhood.
The Columbia Christian School hosted a town hall meeting on Saturday afternoon in their Eastside Church of Christ chapel. This event was coordinated by Safe Rest PDX and attended by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who spoke for an hour. With the VOA site no longer considered for a City run temporary shelter site, his conversation focused on the program’s ambitions to end unsanctioned camping in Portland and his belief that it was the most humane solution to getting people off the street quickly. Event organizers took written questions from the audience for the Mayor and selected a few to ask. After he concluded his portion of the meeting, the two hundred attendees thinned out considerably, and the TV news crews from Koin, KGW, KATU, and KPTV packed up their equipment. The event continued for almost another hour, with speakers sharing their experience engaging the unhoused and expressing concern over JOHS’s lack of communication. Examples of the County’s short Cummings centered around missing several self-imposed deadlines for mailing information to residents near 333 SE 82nd Avenue and the lack of County attendance at their meeting. Outside of the written questions for the Mayor, organizers asked attendees to refrain from speaking. However, they collected people’s concerns through a survey and plan to share those comments at a future date.
During Mayor Wheeler’s time at the lectern, he informed the crowd that the City was not planning to have any other large 150-person camps sited in Montavilla, limiting the future alternative shelters to the three County locations. JOHS and Straightway Services are committed to holding a public conversation with the community closer to the site’s opening and signing a Good Neighbor Agreement with the local business and neighborhood associations. Until then, there will likely remain a gap in public information beyond what is available on the County’s Frequently Asked Questions webpage for the Montavilla Safe Park.
By
Jacob Loeb
Disclosure: The Author of this article servers on the boards of Montavilla/East Tabor Business Association, 82nd Avenue Business Association, and Montavilla Neighborhood Association. Those groups will work with Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services and Straightway Services to draft a Good Neighbor Agreement for the Safe Park Village on SE 82nd Avenue.
Wednesday, March 15th, crews began demolishing the 1949-era cinderblock home at 235 SE 80th Avenue, making way for a three-story apartment building. The new structure will support 11 units of housing. Eleay Properties bought the house in 2019 and started the permitting process to build the multifamily development. Schumacher Custom Homes is the builder on this project.
In addition to the new housing, the developer will plant a new street tree and construct a carriage walk – a small cement path in the furnishing zone that bridges the planted gap between the sidewalk and curb, allowing people to exit a vehicle without stepping on the grass. An Early Assistance application for the project scoped 12 units and seven parking spaces. However, the submitted permit application text does not mention parking and proposes one less apartment. Expect to see demolition work complete at the site sometime next week, and construction should begin this summer.
By
Jacob Loeb
Update July 20th, 2023. Crews have nearly topped-out on the three-story building, offering people a view of the structure’s massing. This is one of the tallest buildings in the surrounding area and represents a high-water mark for buildings in Montavilla.
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A cluster of four-story apartment buildings is transforming E Burnside Street west of SE 60th Avenue. In a former 7-Eleven’s footprint, crews recently completed work on the second building at the Burnie apartment complex. One street over, Tabor Flats PDX has a 78-unit apartment building under construction. This month, permit applications revealed another 78-unit building will soon sit between the other two projects, replacing The Jag Shop at 5710 E Burnside Street. This rapid redevelopment indicates what is economically viable in Commercial Mixed Use 2 (CM2) zoning just 20 blocks from Montavilla.
Rendering of 5734 E Burnside Street. Image courtesy FoslerArchitecture
In January 2023, the specialty automotive repair shop announced its closure after nearly 28 years. Now Fosler Architecture is working with the new property owners to design the four-story multi-family building replacing The Jag Shop. The proposed project will include a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units. Each residence will have a stacked laundry facility and utilizes an efficient floor plan. When completed, the building will have a new address of 5734 E Burnside Street.
The Tabor Flats PDX development, across SE 57th Avenue from The Jag Shop, is owned by the same entity behind the Burnie. The group’s newest apartment building broke ground at 8 SE 56th Avenue soon after the other development wrapped up just 700 feet away. Studio 3 Architecture designed both projects for The Mark R Madden Revocable Living Trust. Consequentially, Studio 3 Architecture has set the aesthetic for buildings in this area of E Burnside Street and will make a lasting mark on the street.
The Jag Shop at 5710 E Burnside Street
These mass housing projects are possible because of the CM2 zoning on this section of E Burnside Street. It incentives medium-scale commercial mixed-use development in population centers and corridors, particularly in areas well served by frequent public transit. City planners expect buildings in this zone to be up to four stories tall, but until recently, very few developers in this area have built to that scale. If these 70-plus unit apartment buildings continue to meet the housing gap for a considerable percentage of the population, builders will continue their work towards the east. CM2 zoning exists across many sections of Montavilla, including 82nd Avenue and E Burnside Street. Only two projects in Montavilla have proposed housing density equal to what is happening in the adjacent neighborhoods. It is only a matter of time before more properties in Montavilla attract development projects that deliver over 60 apartments in a single structure.
Zoning map centered on 5710 E Burnside from Portland Maps
By
Jacob Loeb
Retraction: A previous version of this article stated that the former owner of The Jag Shop was involved in the project. He is not involved in the apartment development. Montavilla News regrets this error.
Neighborhood news site focused on buildings and changing businesses
