Three Montavilla car lots sit empty along 82nd Avenue at the end of 2025, marking a shift in an area known as Portland’s used car destination for budget-conscious buyers. It is not uncommon for locations to change tenants and for lots to relocate within the area. However, some auto industry businesses blame City-led changes to infrastructure and potential tax increases for adding to their operating pressures.
Empty Hood To Coast Auto Sales lot at 428 SE 82nd Ave
Hood To Coast Auto Sales relocated to 428 SE 82nd Avenue in 2021, having outgrown a location near NE Sandy Boulevard and NE 138th Avenue. From the prominent SE Stark Street corner, owners Lindsey Barber and Matt Barber ran the used-car lot for four years until staff recently cleared out the inventory in November. By mid December, the lot was empty, and the property’s owner, Harry John, placed a “for rent” sign on the sales lot’s fence.
Empty 82nd Auto Mall lot at 1164 SE 82nd Ave
82nd Auto Mall recently closed its 1164 SE 82nd Avenue location this year, as the property’s owner seeks to sell the three-quarter-acre site that once housed a Triple XXX Drive-In. Previously, the used auto sales lot bounced around the area with a stint at 1205 SE 82nd Avenue from 2003 to 2009. It served customers from 707 SE 82nd Avenue in 2010 and 2011, then moved back to 1205 SE 82nd Avenue in 2013, before setting up in its last location around 2021.
Empty sales lot at 707 SE 82nd Ave last used as an expansion lot by Atlas Motors
Atlas Motors expanded from its 605 SE 82nd Avenue location to the adjacent vehicle sales lot at 707 SE 82nd Avenue around 2012. Royal Motors and 82nd Auto Mall previously worked from the space. This fall, Atlas Motors consolidated its inventory to its original lot and vacated the expansion space. Sales Manager at Atlas Motors, Madjid Okhovat, explained that it is not a lack of vehicles impacting these changes. From his perspective, it is interference by local and state governments.
Empty sales lot at 707 SE 82nd Ave last used as an expansion lot by Atlas Motors
Nationally, automotive sales are declining in some segments. On December 16th, the U.S. Census Bureau released data on national retail and food sales for October, showing a 1.6% drop in motor vehicle and auto parts sales. However, that data focuses on the new- and late-model used-vehicle market. Cars on 82nd Avenue primarily fall into the below $15,000 segment, which is less volatile. Okhovat said that customers he sees shopping for a car on 82nd Avenue are budget-conscious. “Most people shopping on 82nd Avenue are working-class people with blue-collar jobs who need dependable cars to get to work, spending $7,000 to $10,000… Now people are also having trouble making that fit into their budget.” He noted that the average age of vehicles on the road is creeping to 13 years old, as people avoid the cost of an upgrade. At the same time, new vehicle prices approach $50,000, and late-model used cars still sell for substantially more than the average 82nd Avenue price, driving commuters to 82nd Avenue for affordable options.
Okhovat noted that not all car sales lots along the former State Highway are reputable, and some bad behavior toward customers has given 82nd Avenue a lower reputation. He says Atlas Motors will repeatedly encounter customers who bought a vehicle with significant issues from another lot and found the seller is no longer in business or unwilling to help. A recent Reddit conversation echoed that perception, with several commenters stating that Atlas had treated them well in comparison.
Recently installed center-lane raised medians in front of Atlas Motors at SE Washington St looking south
When asked about the conspicuously vacant lots surrounding his workplace, Madjid Okhovat said he felt it was due to pressures from local officials. He explained that new center-lane raised medians were recently installed by the City in front of Atlas Motors, and that the former Hood to Coast lots block left turns into their property. He also noted that proposed plans for 82nd Avenue Transit and Safety Improvements will extend those medians south to similarly block 707 SE 82nd Avenue and the former 82nd Auto Mall lots. He feels that those changes, along with the possibility that Portland could convert the outer travel lanes on 82nd Avenue into Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes, weaken the future prosperity of a used-car business in the area. Selling used vehicles in the lower price range has many risks, and Okhovat said that current and pending fees impacting the automotive industry are making it tough for buyers with limited funds. Consequently, he thinks, used vehicle sellers are anticipating a challenging marketplace and can no longer operate at the same level they have been.
These current car lot vacancies may be a coincidence of timing in the business cycle of used car sales on 82nd Avenue. However, operators willing to discuss their experiences along 82nd Avenue are not optimistic about the future prosperity of automotive-oriented businesses on the avenue. Atlas Motors has a long history in the area that they intend to build on, and it is possible that vacant lots will fill with another similar business, but at the moment, the empty spaces have attracted the attention of the community as a visible signal of change.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Otter Wax, a neighborhood producer of small-batch specialty goods handcrafted in Portland. Using only natural ingredients, they make modern care products that are steeped in tradition. We thank them for their support.
On January 31st, the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles (DMV) department will permanently close its Mall 205 DMV location at 9910 SE Washington Street. In a posted notice, DMV representatives explained that finding a replacement location could take over a year. Until then, they will reassign the Mall 205 location’s 18 employees to nearby DMV offices to handle the expected increase in activity at the remaining Portland area DMV facilities.
The Mall 205 DMV opened in 2015 and is one of the only remaining interior-accessed storefronts in that complex. Rhino Investments Group purchased the shopping center in early 2022 and ended leases for a majority of tenants in March 2022. The new Mall owners are actively reconfiguring the building for larger retail clients with dedicated front entrances that do not rely on the legacy interior hallways. DMV customers accessed the office through a back entrance on the south side of the shopping mall building, which led visitors down an unmarked hallway to find their destination. One other business used the back parking lot for access during the reconfiguration. However, in May 2023, Mall 205’s 24 Hour Fitness location closed permanently, making the DMV the last tenant accessed from that side of the property.
Handwritten sign directing visitors to the back entrance for the DMV
According to the DMV’s posted closure notice, building maintenance issues prompted the department’s decision not to renew the lease at Mall 205. A Rhino spokesperson explained they worked early on to remedy heating and cooling issues experienced by the DMV and developed a 2025 plan to create a permanent solution for the space if the DMV remained a tenant. More recently, vandalism on the property interrupted the DMV unit’s water service and forced the Mall’s public restroom to close. “The majority of the recent water-related problems the DMV experienced stem from repeated break-ins from the city’s homeless population, during which copper piping was stolen, and facilities were significantly damaged. This caused intermittent service interruptions,” wrote the Rhino spokesperson in an email interview with Montavilla News. The group decided to close the public restrooms due to repeated misuse and to promote safety for people visiting the property. The common-area restrooms were leftover from the Mall’s former configuration, and the Rhino spokesperson noted the group is not obligated to provide those facilities. Each tenant in Mall 205 has dedicated restroom facilities within their units.
The DMV’s lease expires on February 28th, and despite reported months-long efforts to find a new location, they could not secure a suitable alternative and chose to close one of the DMV’s busiest offices. In 2024, the Mall 205 DMV served around 95,000 customers, updating vehicle registration and obtaining driver’s licenses or identification (ID) cards.
Mall 205 hallway leading to the DMV
This closure comes ahead of the May 7th federal requirement that everyone 18 years and older present a REAL ID, or a federally accepted alternative, to board a flight within the U.S. or to access certain federal facilities. REAL ID-compliant Oregon-issued ID cards and driver’s licenses have a star in the upper right corner. Air travelers without that indicator will need to visit the DMV soon. Individuals wanting to update to a REAL ID or use any other DMV services should use the Southeast Portland DMV at 8710 SE Powell Boulevard or another conveniently located office.
Rhino Investments Group had anticipated the DMV’s continued participation in Mall 205’s transformation to an exteriorly accessed shopping complex. “We regret that the Oregon DMV has chosen to leave Mall 205. We had already designed around the DMV premises with the Burlington lease, as we anticipated to retain the DMV at the property,” wrote the Rhino spokesperson. They now plan to renovate the former DMV office to incorporate the remaining indoor mall space into a single leasable unit with its entrance on the southern side of the building. Construction on the 1970-era Mall should begin again as the city approves permits and more tenants sign leases.
At the end of January, Flipside Hats will close its Montavilla Storefront at 7848 SE Stark Street and focus on growing its already successful online distribution. Customers can find discounts on the remaining inventory at the store until they sell out within the next couple of weeks. The 500-square-foot retail space is available for a future tenant, and the building owners are actively looking for a new business to fill the space.
Kori Giudici and Jacob Wollner, co-owners of Flipside Hats, purchased the Montavilla building at the beginning of 2021 to host their business. The hat shop and online order fulfillment facility relocated from SE Belmont to Stark Street in November 2021 after an extensive renovation of the new location. Flipside Hats used the larger storefront space at 7850 SE Stark Street for their shop and made space for another storefront next door. Endure Vintage Furniture rented the smaller retail storefront in the hat-maker-owned building in February 2023 but closed the business in April 2024. Flipside Hats and its related brands moved their operations out of the building after the owners relocated to Tucson, Arizona. The company maintained Portland-based production at another location and only used the showroom space on SE Stark Street, leaving a large back room underutilized. After searching for new tenants for the smaller storefront’s vacancy, they found Storied Vintage, which could use the expanded floor space of the larger unit, so Flipside Hats moved into the smaller space.
Changing business needs and challenges running the location from another state started to negate the value of a showroom. Jacob Wollner said they still love the neighborhood and will retain ownership of the two-storefront property. “We still love the building here, there’s a lot of really amazing businesses [in Montavilla],” said Wollner. He explained that the small storefront should be a great starting point for someone looking to open a shop on SE Stark Street. “We made that [storefront] as an accessible entry point for small business, and so hopefully someone in the community can utilize it and serve the neighborhood,” remarked Wollner. It is a single-room shop with a private bathroom attached. The building owners designed the smaller storefront for retail use, having insufficient room and utilities for food prep. It is the right size and layout for a modest store that wants large windows and good foot traffic.
Customers interested in finding unique hats at a discount should visit the shop on SE Stark Street, and if people miss the sale, they can always find the hats online at flipsidehats.com. Businesses interested in the space should contact Jacob Wollner at 503-272-1357 for more information.
As of August 1st, all vendors have left the Eastport Food Center cart pod, and the business appears to have closed permanently. The owner of the 23,000-square-foot dining destination at 3905 SE 82nd Avenue listed the business for sale in 2022. In May, the location’s website went offline, and carts began moving off property in significant numbers last month. Now, the facility is closed without a posted notice.
The property’s owner worked in the auto sales business and converted his used car lot to a food cart pod in 2020. Two years later, he changed his address to Texas, where he registered another car sales-related company. Around the time of the owner’s relocation in 2022, he listed the site and business for sale. Public records do not yet reflect a change in ownership. However, it appears this site will no longer support food cart operations and may have a new owner or a different tenant in the near future.
This is a developing story. We will update this report or provide a link to an in-depth article when more information is available.
Update: Many of the food carts from Eastport Food Center have relocated three blocks north to the Collective Oregon Eateries (CORE) at 3612 SE 82nd Avenue. A representative with the CORE cart pod and dining hall said they would update the list of carts soon. Until then, they encourage people to walk a few blocks over to discover the carts available at their collective.
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.
On December 18th, Hungry Heart Bakery served its last meal from the 7940 SE Stark Street location and will return to its former space a block away at 414 SE 80th Avenue. Since April 2022, the Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets shop has operated from the SE 80th location. Jax Hart owns both businesses, and the two locations worked together to meet the varied appetites of customers throughout the day. This weekend, December 30th and 31st, the restaurant’s owner will sell surplus supplies as they consolidate operations into the smaller space.
Inside Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets
Hungry Heart Bakery opened in Montavilla on January 3rd, 2015, after five years of running the successful Hungry Heart cupcakes food cart. From 2017 to 2019, Hungry Heart opened a sister business, Heartbreaker, a block over at 411 SE 81st Avenue. They closed that business with plans to open a new restaurant on SE Stark Street called White Rabbit Cafe and Bakery in the spring of 2020. The pandemic set White Rabbit’s launch back, with the SE Stark location opening in early 2021 under the Hungry Heart name. As restrictions lifted on indoor dining, Hart expanded the menu and embraced the original brunch menu planned for White Rabbit. The restaurant began a transition to the intended name, adopting both logos. However, they never completed that transition, and a change of business operations was needed.
In December, Jax Hart publicly announced that the company would relocate to the original space. “The decision to downsize has not been easy, but gives us the opportunity to slow down and return to our roots,” reads a notice on the Hungry Heart website. Consolidating the two locations requires selling some of the surplus restaurant supplies. The staff invites people to buy items at the weekend sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 30th and 31st inside the closed location at 7940 SE Stark Street. They intend to reopen the consolidated shop at 414 SE 80th Avenue on January 5th, 2024. Watch the Hungry Heart Instagram account for updates.
Long a Montavilla landmark, the historic Saints Peter and Paul Episcopal Church is slated to be demolished to make room for a much-needed affordable housing complex.
The Montavilla church became known as Saints Peter and Paul only in 1968, when the congregations of the Montavilla church, St. Peter’s, merged with the Lents church, St. Paul’s. But the history of the Montavilla church goes back more than 100 years.
At its beginning, there was no church building, but the congregation had existed since at least 1915. At that time, Montavilla’s tiny Episcopalian community of some ten families gathered in homes or rented spaces. By 1920, they were an official mission church thanks to the assistance of Rev. Thomas Jenkins, rector of St. David’s in Portland.
Rev. Jenkins was dedicated to making Episcopal churches available to suburban communities. St. Peter’s was one of three mission churches he established in eastern Portland. Only St. Peter’s Chapel, as it was then called, survived and in 1926, got its own church building. When the congregation built a larger church in 1959, the original church was renamed Jenkins’ Hall in his honor.
Rev. Thomas Jenkins as Bishop of Nevada. Source: Wikipedia
But being designated a mission church did not necessarily come with a church building. The Montavilla congregation had to continue worshipping in rented spaces until it built a church in 1926. Until then, they were frequently forced to move as their rental spaces were sold. In 1920 and 1921 alone, they relocated five times.
Nor did a mission church come with a permanent priest. Sometimes, a visiting priest would conduct Sunday services, but sometimes, congregants like Dorcas Hallum and Ernest Stockley took the pulpit.
This 1924 Sanborn fire insurance map detail shows the last St. Peter’s rental located on E. 80th Avenue, opposite the big 1893 Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1926, the St. Peter’s congregation took out a loan and erected its own church at the corner of Pine Street and 82nd Avenue. Despite its small size, it was designed by the prestigious Portland architectural firm headed by Ellis F. Lawrence, founder and dean of the University of Oregon School of Architecture, and so many years later, it became an official historical landmark.
On Sunday, September 12, 1926, the St. Peter’s congregation processed from their rented quarters on 80th to the church site at the corner of 82nd and Pine for the groundbreaking ceremony.
The St. Peter’s congregation at the groundbreaking ceremony. Archdeacon Henry D. Chambers is on the left. Source: Sts. Peter and Paul archives
Archdeacon Jay Claud Black officiated the first service on November 14, 1926. On November 18, the new church held an open house with the Women’s Guild hosting an afternoon tea followed by an evening of entertainment and a dance.
These two photographs from the Sts. Peter and Paul archives show the original church, with its congregants (left), and the church with the added vestibule entrance (right). Source: Sts. Peter and Paul archives
During the Depression, St. Peter’s had a series of temporary priests, so much of the church operation was still up to members of the congregation. They paid off the church mortgage in 1930 and soon after built a social hall. Unfortunately, at one point, the church coffers were so low that parishioners Mark and Ethel Francklin paid the priest’s salary.
During the 1940s, the congregation continued to be led by temporary priests. Then, in 1950, it got its first permanent priest: Rev. Kent Lambert Haley, who served St. Peter’s for the next 16 years. When he retired at the end of 1966, he left a legacy of remarkable accomplishments, including a new and larger church.
Rev. Kent Lambert Haley, rector of St. Peter’s from 1950 to 1966. Source: The Oregonian, April 1-April 3, 2016
Rev. Haley had arrived in Portland just one year earlier, fresh from divinity school in Berkeley, California. His first posting was at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where he was also ordained as a priest. In 1950, Bishop Benjamin Dagwell urged Haley to take charge of St. Peter’s.
When he arrived in Montavilla, he found a rundown church surrounded by weeds. Rev. Haley’s daughter Mary still remembers playing in those weeds.
The church was located at the edge of Portland’s dense suburbs. 82nd Avenue was still a two-lane road, with farms, orchards, and nurseries to the east. At first, Rev. Haley, his wife Janice, and baby Mary had to live in a vicarage on 86th Avenue with a leaky roof and a crumbling basement.
During his 16 years at St. Peter’s, Haley spurred himself and his congregants into a flurry of activity. They helped with new building projects, maintaining and repairing the church building and grounds, organizing social events, and raising funds to cover expanding parish expenses.
Haley deeply loved church music, which would be a focus during his years as St. Peter’s priest. His masters’ thesis was on the boy choir in the parish church, and establishing a boys’ choir was a priority. He had directed boys’ choirs at St. Clement’s in Berkeley and St. Mark’s in Portland. In 1950, he created a boys’ choir at St. Peter’s. Around 1955, Haley added a girls’ choir.
Haley also introduced the medieval custom of the Boy Bishop, a practice he had revived in 1948 at St. Clement’s.
14-year-old Boy Bishop Todd Goodrich being installed by Oregon Bishop James W. F. Carman with Father Haley on the right in 1963. Source: Sts. Peter and Paul’s archives
Every year on St. Nicholas Day, December 6, the choir elected one of its choristers to serve as Boy Bishop until Epiphany, January 6. The Bishop of Oregon installed the Boy Bishop, who would wear boy-size vestments and carry a bishop’s cross (crosier). He had various duties, including managing the choir, giving sermons, and leading processions. The last Boy Bishop was elected in 1965, Rev. Haley’s last year at St. Peter’s.
Other aspects of church life were improved under Rev. Haley’s leadership with the enthusiastic support of his membership.
In 1953 and 1954, the hall next to the church and the basement were enlarged. A new kitchen was added.
In 1955, St. Peter’s became an official parish, and Father Haley was instituted as its rector.
You would think, with all this activity on top of his religious duties, Haley would be pressed for time. But in 1954, he launched a children’s television show called “Noah’s Ark” on a local station. He told stories with his own drawings, just as he did for his Sunday school classes. The show ran weekly until 1957.
TV Life cover showing Father Haley with one of his biblical illustrations in the background
By 1956, St. Peter’s membership needed a bigger church, so the parish bought the vacant lots just west of the church. They also purchased the lot and house next door on Ash Street to serve as a new vicarage.
In 1958, the architectural firm of Dukehart and Kinne was hired to design a church that would seat 200 congregants and 50 choristers. St. Peter’s parishioner, Robert Kyle, oversaw the construction.
Groundbreaking occurred on November 30, 1958, and the new church was dedicated on November 27, 1959.
Architect’s sketch for the new St. Peter’s Church. Source: Oregonian, November 29, 1958
Father Haley wanted—and got—a traditional church design. He wanted architecture that reflected Anglican High Church traditions.
Father Haley described himself as an Anglo Catholic—or High Church—priest to distinguish Episcopalians from Protestants. In 1955, the Oregon Episcopal Convention dropped the word Protestant from the name of the Episcopal Church to stress continuity with traditional Roman Catholic practices. Haley was not happy when, in 1976, the national Episcopal Church reversed its position.
Besides getting a traditional Anglican church design, Rev. Haley argued for a pipe organ to provide a richer, smoother sound. A pipe organ was vastly more expensive, but fortunately, Bishop Benjamin Dagwell donated a Wicks pipe organ. The pipe organ needed its own room, but parishioners agreed to this added building expense. The church’s interior was designed with optimal acoustics in mind: lots of flat, smooth surfaces, including floors without carpets.
Ground level plan for the Sts. Peter and Paul campus. The 1959 church is on the left. The 1926 church was renamed Jenkins Hall. Source: Sts. Peter and Paul archives
Interior view of the completed church showing a portion of the nave with pews and the altar. By the time this photo was taken, the choir stalls had been removed. Photo source: Montavilla News
While church membership grew in the 1950s, it declined in the 1960s. In 1968, the Oregon Diocesan leaders recommended that it merge with another low-population church, St. Paul’s in Lents. The congregations agreed and the two churches became Sts. Peter and Paul. St. Paul’s rector, Rev. Lee H. Young, headed the combined church until 1977.
Under Rev. Scott H. Helferty, 1984-1994, Sts. Peter and Paul began programs to serve local communities in need, which had multiplied in the 1980s. Due to various economic and political conditions, there was a crisis of homelessness. Churches began programs to provide shelter and food.
Rev. Helferty and his parish began offering free dinners on Wednesdays to low-income and homeless people. So successful was this program that, in 1993, the Montavilla Business Association gave its Outstanding Citizen award to long-term parishioner Douglas M. Parker for his contribution to the program. The meal service continued as Brigid’s Table.
In subsequent years, under rectors Kurt Neilson, Sara Fischer, and others, new services were added. These services include Rahab’s Sisters, the Crisis Kitchen, the Red Wagon Project, and the Montavilla Wellness Fair.
Rahab’s Sisters was started in 2003 by a group of Episcopal lay and clergy women. It was inspired by the Maze Marigold project in London’s East End, which Rev. Fischer had observed firsthand in 2002. Rahab’s Sisters emulated the London project, offering non-judgmental hospitality to marginalized women and gender-diverse individuals in east Portland. Desiree Eden Ocampo, executive director of the project, refers to the service as harm reduction.
Beginning in 2011, Sts. Peter and Paul also reached out to Montavilla’s growing Latino community by offering Spanish language services, where visitors were welcomed by familiar images of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Spanish services continued until COVID arrived in 2020 when all in-person gatherings ended at the church.
While Sts. Peter and Paul reached out to the homeless and the hungry, it was slower to welcome female clergy. Lay women had long served in church guilds, but the Episcopal Church was slow to accept women clerics. Women were officially allowed to become deacons in 1970 and to become priests in 1976. Yet at Sts. Peter and Paul, only three women have held clerical positions: Jannis Goold, a deacon in 1990; Rev. Eleanor Applewhite Terry, a part-time assisting priest from 2003 to 2004; and Rev. Sara Fischer, a priest from 2020 to the present.
Rev. Sara Fischer is the first female rector to serve Montavilla’s Episcopal church. Photo source: Sts. Peter and Paul website
Over the years, Montavilla’s Episcopalian church has had its ups and downs, but it survived and served its community for at least 123 years. Now, the congregation is making the ultimate sacrifice, the surrender of its worship and social spaces in the interest of serving those in greater need.
Fortunately, the church’s service-oriented parishioners and their allies will continue their community assistance work. Rahab’s Sisters will operate from its temporary home in the nearby Montavilla United Methodist Church while it seeks funding for a dedicated facility. A new initiative, the Montavilla Collective, explores ways to weave a wider web of connection. In addition, the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon will be seeding a new community, currently under the name St. Mary the Prophet, to minister to those in the Montavilla neighborhood and beyond who are not served by traditional churches. The Rev. Sara Fischer will lead this new mission initiative part-time beginning in 2024.
The St. Peter and Paul’s complex will soon be gone, but its spirit of service and generosity will live on.
Saints Peter and Paul Episcopal Church will hold their last traditional Sunday liturgy at 10 a.m. on December 3rd. A special deconsecration will occur later that day at 5 p.m. followed by dinner. The church community invites the public to attend one or both events held at 247 SE 82nd Avenue.
Earlier this year, Mexican-themed fast-casual restaurant Baja Fresh closed its 10090 SE Washington Street location at the outer edge of Mall 205. Last week, architects working for the Chipotle chain submitted building permits for a new store at the same address. Both brands position themselves in a similar space within the corporate foodservice marketplace. However, Chipotle offers a smaller menu of core items and substantially more locations than Baja Fresh.
Recently, all Baja Fresh franchise locations in Portland have ceased operations, including the Mall 205 store. Both of these fast-casual dining brands started in the early 1990s and attracted many of the same customers. Baja Fresh was first to the Portland market and established a strong presence. However, early investment from the McDonald’s corporation helped launch Chipotle into a national brand. McDonald’s divested financial interest in Chipotle by 2006, but by then, the restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos had already become well-known across the United States, outpacing many competitors.
Chipotle location map with MV News illustrations
The Mall 205 Chipotle is several months away from opening. Building permits for a new serving area, restrooms, office, commercial kitchen, and walk-in cooler are pending approval. Plans can change anytime and may not result in the store’s opening. However, this location fills a service gap for the company, situated between its Cascade Station and Clackamas Town Center stores. This Mall 205 Chipotle location would join another popular fast-food chain planned for this area. This month, Chick-fil-A received approval to construct a restaurant within the existing structure at 9950 SE Stark Street. Both these developments will increase traffic to the area during peak dining times. However, they will not offer drive-through service and both have on-site parking available, reducing the likelihood that lines will back up onto the street.
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.
For several years, the St. Peter and Paul Episcopal Church community investigated using their land at 247 SE 82nd Avenue for affordable housing. This week, church officials announced plans to discontinue religious services at the site and turn the property over to The Episcopal Church in Western Oregon (ECWO) to begin the site’s transformation towards that goal. A final celebration in the sanctuary will occur at 5 p.m. on December 3rd, with an open invitation for the community to attend. After several years of additional planning and permitting, demolition crews will raze the building at the nearly 100-year-old site to make room for residences.
The small congregation has long made the building and property available to supportive groups serving the vulnerable. As the housing crises forced more Portlanders onto the streets, adding attainable housing to the property along 82nd Avenue aligned with the faith group’s goals. Early concepts called for partial demolition of the building while retaining worship space or creating a new mixed-use structure. However, the economics and efficacy of adding housing to a shared site ultimately seemed unfeasible for the under-resourced congregation. Recognizing the urgent need for housing and St. Peter and Paul’s uncertain financial position led to the proposed dissolution.
The ECWO leadership will vote to dissolve this Montavilla church alongside two other Oregon congregations at their Annual Meeting on October 28th, 2023. The building could continue to have secular uses in the intervening years before its deconstruction. Ultimately, ECWO wants to provide a sustainable and accessible community resource in its place that addresses the housing, services, and relational needs of the neighborhood. However, until the project breaks ground, it is important to its new caretakers that the space remains active and useful. For two decades, Rahab’s Sisters has offered a safe drop-in center for female-identifying people marginalized by sex work, addiction, or poverty. That group intends to continue those efforts uninterrupted and could work from the building until they find a new permanent location. However, ECWO will determine what groups will have future use of the building within the coming weeks.
St. Peter and Paul’s Rector, Reverend Sara Fischer, understands that the classic church model has become financially unsustainable for smaller congregations, particularly those serving the poor. However, that societal shift will not impede her commitment to the community. A dedicated structure is not a requirement of Rev. Fischer’s work, and she intends to continue uncoupled from a building while staying embedded in the community. Overall, Rev. Fischer is excited to see the structures of her faith reimagined to support the immediate needs of vulnerable people. “I think that for churches, it’s really the wave of the future to use the property for something like affordable housing,” said Rev. Fischer. They need to “figure out how to be in a relationship with people providing some of what the church has to offer, but not the traditional churchy things.”
Rev. Fischer (center) image provided courtesy St. Peter and Paul Episcopal Church
Substantial change for the St. Peter and Paul property will come years from now, near its 100th birthday. The first church building was erected at the site in 1926 as the St. Peter Episcopal Church and School, seven years after its founding. The St. Paul Episcopal Church was established in 1895 to serve the small town of Woodmere and later merged with the Montavilla congregation in 1968. At that time, the name changed to reflect the union. The next few years will see programs anchored at this site find other locations within the area while maintaining a connection to those seeking their services.
This transition is not occurring without some sense of loss. Around 20 worshipers will need to find their path to another congregation or expression of faith. A century of documents and records will transition out of the neighborhood to the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon’s care. Most notably, the demolition of the iconic church on 82nd Avenue will change the streetscape.
Despite the losses and years of impending change, the community will likely perceive this transition as positive. Providing affordable housing is overwhelmingly supported by Portlanders and is perceived as a critical step in addressing problems plaguing the city. The contribution of St. Peter and Paul’s land and ECWO’s commitment to creating around 100 attainable residential units should move the city closer to sheltering those living on the margins and provide a humane solution to the housing emergency.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Rahab’s Sisters was in the building for just one decade. They have operated there since 2003.
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.
Over the last month, the Cookies cannabis store at 7916 SE Division Street has remained closed to customers, with a repurposed patrol car blocking its parking. Recent signs of neglect began after this marijuana chain posted a temporary construction-closure notice. Since then, miscreants have broken the parked car’s windows and tagged it with graffiti. The business owner has yet to file permit applications for the renovations, and a recent Nuisance complaint cites trash and tall weeds at the property.
Problems at this location began last year after a car crashed through the storefront in November 2022. Since then, customers have entered the store through makeshift plywood doors. The owners added four bollards to protect the entryway, and a former patrol vehicle with Green-Way Medicinal markings began appearing frequently at the site. The Cookies’ location directory no longer lists the shuttered SE Division location, and it is not visible on Portland’s map of cannabis retailers. However, the city’s site still lists the location’s license as active.
Billed as a cannabis company and lifestyle brand, the California-based Cookies focuses on its specialized strains, including the signature Girl Scout Cookies pot products. The Division shop was one of two Cookies storefronts in Portland. Three Lemonnade-branded partner dispensary locations are also within the city limits. The company has reportedly faced lawsuits over improper business practices. However, those cases are in the early stages and likely unrelated to this location’s problems.
The property owner and Cookies staff have yet to respond to inquiries regarding a reopening date for this business. The location is only a few years old, and its permanent closure seems unlikely. However, its page deletion from the company website and prolonged closure without signs of work point towards a more significant change at this location. The active Nuisance complaint could instigate improvements around the site. The business owner may remove the damaged vehicle or add other site protections to the closed property.
Enchilada Express shuttered its Montavilla location after a temporary closure became permanent. The restaurant owners ask customers to visit the original SE Powell location instead or order online. The food-service-ready storefront at 8243 SE Division Street is once again available for lease after less than three years.
Enchilada Express opened this second location on SE Division in February 2021. This pandemic-era expansion forced the restaurant to focus on takeout orders and sales through delivery apps. Enchilada Express had difficulty establishing a solid customer base in the two-and-a-half years they worked in this space. Foot traffic from the nearby community college has yet to return to pre-covid levels, and changes to the street eliminated some on-street parking. A few other eating establishments have recently closed in this area for various reasons, adding to a cluster of vacant storefronts on this block.
Although this area has several empty retail spaces, commercial property around SE 82nd Avenue and Division Street could increase activity as more residential projects break ground. Developers plan to build a 143-unit apartment building called Jade Lofts on the neighboring block at 8301 SE Division Street. Additional housing developments in the pre-planning phase will bring more residents to the Portland Community College SE Campus and the former Canton Grill property. However, waiting two to three years for new customers is not viable for many businesses, and current conditions are challenging for existing shops. As things improve in this area over the next few years, this former Enchilada Express space may provide affordable retail space in a desirable location. People interested in leasing the now vacant shop space should call 503-407-7936.
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.
Neighborhood news site focused on buildings and changing businesses
