In the latter half of June, road crews reopened NE Halsey Street to bidirectional automotive traffic after months of work creating a new mini-roundabout near Interstate 84 and NE 82nd Avenue. Additionally, drivers regained full use of NE 80th and NE 81st avenues at the worksite intersections. Starting on February 16th, westbound motorists on NE Halsey Street were prevented from fully crossing the I-84 overpass as cement masons created the second half of a new mini-roundabout and other contractors built additional street improvements.
NE Halsey mini-roundabout approach from NE 81st Avenue.
As this work nears completion, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) recently scaled back plans for the NE Halsey Street Safety and Access to Transit Project, postponing a planned intersection improvement at NE 69th Avenue and removing a 150-foot section of new sidewalk and street trees from the project’s scope. PBOT says the $380,000 in cost savings is necessary to meet reduced funding for this project while still maintaining core improvement goals of filling gaps in walking and biking connections on NE Halsey Street from NE 80th to NE 92nd avenues.
Rendering of NE Halsey roundabout post 2026 update to remove sidewalk section, courtesy PBOT
The newly renamed NE Halsey Street (80th to 92nd Avenues) – Safety and Access to Transit Project contains many safety improvements for people walking and biking through the area. Future work will create a dedicated bidirectional cycle path from the mini-roundabout to 92nd Avenue through a challenging section of the City’s street grid carved up by freeway construction decades ago. Work on this project could help reconnect communities cut off by car-focused street infrastructure, while reducing injuries on an identified High Crash street.
Drivers and other street users should use caution around this new infrastructure, as the adjusted traffic pattern could confuse people unfamiliar with the change. The raised concrete center circle is designed with sloped edges so that long vehicles, such as first-responder trucks or buses, can drive over it, treating it as a speed bump when necessary. Look for continued road work east of the mini-roundabout as contractor Interlaken and its subcontractors work along the length of the NE Halsey job site.
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Vestal Elementary School at 161 NE 82nd Avenue is several feet shorter after crews began work on a roof-replacement project that includes removing its decommissioned boiler brick chimney. The $3.6 million project includes updates to fall protection equipment, roof lighting, mechanical systems, and some seismic improvements to select unreinforced masonry walls in the building.
Demolition crews have removed most of the square brick chimney atop the Portland Public School (PPS) building, sending debris down the black plastic chute affixed to the scaffolding erected around the once-towering structure. They will take it down to approximately parapet height. Then they will replace the full roof surface that has leaked into the rooms below over the years. The project scope includes water damage repairs to ceilings and walls.
Rear view of school with chimney nearly removed down to second story parapet height
Workers will install interior and exterior ship ladders to reorient roof access, replacing roof hatches and guardrails. Crews will remove and replace some skylights and upgrade gym windows. The kitchen on the main level and second-floor bathrooms will see enhancements. Three detached portable buildings will similarly receive new roofs to prolong their lifespan as expanded student instruction space.
Detached portable school buildings being reroofed
Project planners anticipate the summertime renovation activity will extend into the next school year, ending in the latter portion of 2026. The campus is currently closed during construction, but will reopen for classes with the remaining work occurring outside of school hours. They expect minimal disruption to educational activities during the upcoming school year.
Voter-approved bond funds from 2017 support these PPS roof replacements, which are designed to create seismic resiliency by improving bracing, strengthening roof decks, and enhancing roof-to-wall connections. However, the renovations underway this summer will not bring all unreinforced masonry buildings like Vestal entirely into compliance with current seismic code requirements. The updates in the package of work should reduce the cost of future seismic work needed to avoid significant structural failure in a large earthquake. People can expect to see more activity at the site over the next few months, and students returning may encounter some unfinished projects as crews wrap up the updates by Fall 2026.
Vestal brick chimney demolition video courtesy Weston Ruter
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On May 20th, at the end of a marathon budget session, the Portland City Council approved an $8.5 billion city budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 with a $755,000 line item for a replacement Montavilla Park picnic shelter. Portland City Council Member Tiffany Koyama Lane’s amendment to the budget came back to consideration at the tail-end of the proceeding after a quick revision to specify Parks Local Option Levy money as the intended funding source. This budget addition passed seven to five at the end of an evening Council session that saw many failing amendments with 6-6 ties as city leaders addressed a $160 million revenue shortfall.
Montavilla Park picnic shelter demolition October 2021, photos by Weston Ruter
Political interest in funding a replacement picnic shelter ramped up recently; however, the community’s desire for its replacement began years before. In October 2021, demolition crews removed the aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park and installed new grass turf rather than preparing the site for an already-designed replacement structure. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) postponed the planned modern 2,000-square-foot open-walled replacement shelter due to a department-wide budgetary shortfall. Before its removal, the area was fenced off for safety concerns. Earlier this month, a community group began circulating a petition to build that Montavilla Park structure.
Proposed Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter from 2021
The petition effort, led by members of the Hope & Bread Street Church who gather in the park for Sunday service, gained community interest, with ABC Television affiliate KATU and MV News covering the campaign. On May 17th, Councilor Koyama Lane from Montavilla’s District 3 included shelter funding as part of her seven proposed budget amendments, later receiving expressed support from other elected officials, including Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards and Oregon Representative Thuy Tran.
Votes for the Montavilla Park picnic shelter did not fall strictly on Portland City Council District lines with District 3 and District 1 residents having local access to the park. District 3 Councilor Steve Novick voted against the funding due to reservations regarding project priorities, given the City staff reductions and program cuts necessary to balance this year’s budget. He expressed support for the project but worried about the potential to overlook other needed projects without an evaluation process to rank community needs. “I would love to be able to vote for this. This is important, but I think that we should make all of these decisions in the context of considering trade-offs, and parks as a huge maintenance backlog,” said Novick, preceding the vote. “I just can’t make this decision out of context. Maybe if we took a long look at all the things that communities have been promised in the maintenance backlog, this would rise to the top. But I can’t say that I’ve done that work, so I can’t support this today.”
1933 Portland Archive image. 82nd Ave roadwork looking north from NE Glisan St. A previous Montavilla park shelter is visible at the right but is not the one removed in 2021
Some petitioners supporting replacing Montavilla Park’s picnic shelter had been watching the proceedings since early afternoon and had to wait until nearly 9:30 p.m. for the session’s final budget amendment vote. The Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission will conduct a legal review of the amended budget. The council can make further adjustments to the approved budget, provided that no individual fund is adjusted by more than 10%. In June, the Portland City Council must formally adopt the budget ahead of July 1st, when the new fiscal year begins. At that point, Parks planners can begin project planning for the return of a Montavilla Park picnic shelter, restoring a nearly 100-year run of having a covered outdoor gathering space at this location.
By
Jacob Loeb
Portland City Council District 3 members and RepresentativeThuy Tranare up for reelection in November 2026. Julia Brim-Edwards is seeking the Multnomah County Chair position. Montavilla News does not endorse individual candidates or ballot measures.
Update: Portland Archive image description expanded to note that the sheltershown in 1933 photo is not the one demolished in 2021. It was removed at an unknown date.
The Multnomah County Midland Library at 805 SE 122nd Avenue will remain closed for repairs after the Monday, May 25th Memorial Day holiday closure, reopening on June 7th. Crews will use surplus funds from past upgrade projects to modernize the building’s original sewer line and enhance finishes inside and out. The Midland Library reopened on October 26th, 2025, after an extensive remodel that was part of the voter-approved 2020 Multnomah County Library Capital Bond.
Unused contingency funds from the library capital bond projects are the primary source of money for this next round of work. Library representatives explained that attentive financial stewardship during the system-wide facilities upgrades enabled this phase of work, which includes Midland Library sewer repairs and improvements to the original sewer line, as well as several enhancements that will extend the life of public-facing amenities and make the site more accessible. Crews will upgrade the community gallery, including picture rails and tack-friendly panels that will protect walls. They will also add a more durable finish to the “Gathering Circle” wood floor and update outdoor benches with durable materials. Workers will install chair rails in the community rooms to protect the freshly painted walls. Three Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- compliant bathrooms will receive updates that include touchless wave-to-open automatic door operators.
Large community meeting room
The Albina Library closed for similarly funded updates on May 18th and will remain closed through May 25th. Midland Library users can visit the Holgate Library at 7905 SE Holgate Blvd., the Gregory Heights Library at 7921 NE Sandy Blvd., or the Rockwood Library at 17917 SE Stark Street during the closure. During the work dates, library staff will extend due dates, and items on the holds shelf will receive extra time. People do not need to change their holds location and can direct questions about due dates and holds to library staff.
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Deconstruction crews will remove the burned remnants of a dilapidated 1926-era home at 3015 SE 87th Avenue to make way for a housing development. The former single-story structure suffered multiple fires over several years, rendering the property uninhabitable. Dez Development and partners purchased the 182-foot-deep property in December 2025 and will work with designers to build multiple single-family homes.
3015 SE 87th Ave November 2024
The building at the site sustained damage from people living there without permission and minor burns from an adjacent fire. However, on July 17th, 2025, a significant fire damaged the property, necessitating its removal for safety reasons. This month, the developer submitted applications to deconstruct the structure, remove the concrete slab, and cap the sewer. The driveway curb-cut will remain for this phase of development. There is a mandatory 35-day demolition delay for this work.
3015 SE 87th Ave Portland Maps
While waiting to clear the site, Dez Development owner Slavik Dezhnyuk explained that they are working with their design team to determine the best way to increase housing density on the 8,736-square-foot site while matching the single-family home footprint of the surrounding properties. “We hope to develop this property with several detached cottage homes,” remarked Dezhnyuk. Design and permitting will take months to complete. However, neighbors can anticipate the dilapidated building’s removal as soon as feasible.
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Work is underway on eight attached townhomes on NE Holladay Street with views of NE 82nd Avenue across the Don Pedro restaurant’s parking lot. This housing project dates back to 2022, when Riverside Carpentry purchased 8225 NE Holladay Street and demolished the 100-year-old single-family residence and detached garage. Most of the new two-story units will provide around 904 square feet, with one unit offering 1003 square feet of living space.
View of project from NE Holladay St
In 2023, the land’s owner transferred the property several times from his Riverside Carpentry business before it was transferred to his Kalen Development company in 2024. In April 2026, crews completed the foundation for the new homes on the 114-by-67-foot parcel. The land is zoned Commercial Mixed Use 2 (CM2), which has a minimum density requirement. Title 33 of Portland’s Planning and Zoning code states the Minimum Density for CM2 is 1 unit per 1,450 square feet, requiring at least 5 units here. The added homes exceed the required density but do not come close to the maximum allowed for this property within the 82nd Avenue commercial corridor.
Concrete foundation showing doorway indents and drainage pipe around the footing.
The developer will need to close an existing driveway approach that once led to the now-demolished detached garage. Future residents of the one sidewalk-adjacent townhome will have a door opening onto NE Holladay Street, and the seven back units will share a paved path on the western edge of the property that leads to their front doors. Work has taken years to break ground after the initial removal of the old house, but crews should increase work activity at the site in the coming months. When completed, the site will have walkable access to the area’s highest ridership bus line and a MAX light rail station.
8223 NE Holladay Street
8225 NE Holladay Street
8227 NE Holladay Street
8229 NE Holladay Street
8231 NE Holladay Street
8233 NE Holladay Street
8235 NE Holladay Street
8237 NE Holladay Street
Article and photo by
Jacob Loeb
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On April 22nd, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) begin grinding down the old asphalt pavement along NE 87th Avenue from the dead-end section near Interstate 84’s sound wall north of NE Hassalo Street and progressing south towards NE Glisan Street. This follows work started last summer to update sidewalk corner curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. That sidewalk infrastructure upgrade and this repaving work underway will create a mostly accessible path through a section of Montavilla with inconsistent pedestrian infrastructure. The northeast section of the neighborhood’s connectivity is constrained by two freeways bordering it to the east and north, along with heavy traffic on NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street along the other edges of these blocks, inhibiting travel. NE 87th Avenue is part of the city’s low-traffic Neighborhood Greenway for walkers and people rolling to their destination.
Image from Portland Maps showing paving of NE 87th Ave in purple
In August 2025, cement masons reconstructed eight sidewalk corners along NE 87th Avenue and added a mid-block curb ramp on the south side of NE Glisan Street across from the northeast corner of 87th Avenue at the NE Glisan intersection. This project creates an opportunity for a near-continuously paved north-south pedestrian path between NE Hassalo Street and NE Glisan Street. However, missing paved sidewalks on the northern edges of 8631 and 8636 NE Holladay Street will require pedestrians to walk across the lawns of these homes to reach the new ADA curb ramps and the existing paved sidewalks. Future redevelopment of those properties could require installing new sidewalks to complete the pedestrian connection.
PBOT pavement grinding equipment parked along 8631 NE Holladay Street’s frontage without a sidewalk
PBOT will continue grinding down the road surface and then transition to repaving NE 87th Avenue from NE Glisan Street to just north of NE Hassalo Street. The maintenance paving crews will work on one travel lane at a time from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. Drivers should expect delays and obey all crew instructions. The sidewalks will remain open. PBOT intends to complete work by Thursday, April 30th. Funding for this project comes from the voter-approved Fixing Our Streets tax, paid by heavy vehicle users and a 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax.
Dead-end section NE 87th Avenue north of NE Hassalo St
This work, along with the curb ramp improvements and repaving happening on NE Glisan from NE 82nd to 92nd avenues, will strengthen pedestrian and bike infrastructure for the Neighborhood Greenway network. The NE Glisan Street repaving and repainting project will provide space for bike lanes, and its intersection with NE 87th Avenue has a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to help people cross the busy NE Glisan roadway. People traveling outside a car should soon feel more comfortable navigating the neighborhood on NE 87th Avenue, thanks to these transportation bureau investments. Drivers should also enjoy a smoother street with brighter painted markings.
NE 87th Avenue looking north from NE Glisan St
Update May 1, 2026: Crews completed principle repaving work on April 30th. Replacement speed bumps and on street markings should return within the follow weeks as weather and scheduling allows.
Post-repaving on NE 87th Ave looking south past NE Hassalo StPost-repaving on NE 87th Ave looking north from NE Hassalo St towards the I-84 soundwall
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An overnight fire at the youth-focused 4D Recovery center off NE 100th Avenue will likely delay construction timelines for the currently unoccupied facility. The nonprofit organization bought the 1980-era office building at 180 NE 100th Avenue in July 2025 and began transforming the structure into a new treatment center with onsite living space for inpatient care.
Construction fence erected at 180 NE 100th Ave August 7, 2025
A social media announcement at the time of the building’s acquisition explained that the site would “become Oregon’s first Adolescent and Family Recovery Campus.” It went on to say the site would host 4D Recovery’s youth detox, residential inpatient treatment, outpatient care, mental health services, family therapy, and a recovery community center. The organization has roots back to 2012, when it began providing a safe place to hang out and socialize for young people seeking recovery, offering a drug- and alcohol-free environment. It has grown to support a variety of youth recovery services operating in over half a dozen Oregon locations.
Construction fence post fire at 180 NE 100th Ave April 12, 2026
The fire that broke out before 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 11th, already had visible flames when Portland Fire & Rescue’s Engine 19 arrived at the scene. According to reports, construction fencing initially inhibited access, but crews quickly began addressing the fire, working to keep the flames contained to the single-story portion of the nearly 18,000-square-foot building. Additional alarms called by first responders brought in more firefighting resources, and the fire was mostly contained by midnight. The source of the fire is still under investigation.
The new Adolescent & Family Campus was set to open in the first half of 2026. This fire will set back those plans for a nonprofit that planned to serve youth ages 14 to 17 from this location. Fire officials report there were no injuries, and no one was displaced as the building was still under construction. People interested in supporting this organization’s efforts or interested in learning more can visit its capital campaign page at 4drecovery.org/capital-campaign.
Update April 13, 2026: Fire officials have determined through their investigative practices that the April 11th fire at 180 NE 100th Avenue was an act of arson. Investigators do not have evidence to suggest the youth recovery facility was specifically targeted, but they are seeking a person of interest in connection with this arson event.
Update April 20, 2026: The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) arrested a suspect in connection with this fire. The person is suspected of starting other fires that day, include two dumpster fires on NE 102nd Avenue and an incident of burning cardboard near an occupied building on NE 99th Avenue. Police say the individual in custody had outstanding misdemeanor warrants, including a Reckless Burning charge from January 2026.
There is a GoFundMe campaign to help bridge the gap between what insurance will likely pay and the cost to rebuild. 4D Recover also has a direct donation link in its website 4drecovery.org.
The owners of the single-story Tool Building at 7131 NE Glisan Street are working behind the decoratively painted window coverings to create seven to eight divided spaces for future tenants. With the help of listing agent JJ Hewitt, they are seeking creative businesses for the space that will complement one another while serving the community with active frontage along a historic streetcar commercial district.
Rendering of the Tool Building at 7131 NE Glisan St courtesy Bill Neburka EAO
Architect and one of the project owners, Bill Neburka, explained that he wants to pay tribute to the 1926-era building’s commercial laundry origins by supporting businesses that produce their products on-site. “I think that’s the only model for retail anymore, where the value add actually happens in the space,” said Neburka. He notes that stores that resell items made by others and sold to customers at a slight markup are often put out of business by their online competitors. He feels that this is contributing to the empty retail space across the city. “It’s a little bit of a hard nut to crack within that model, what is the ground floor habitation in a city anymore, because you walk anywhere and we’ve just got acres of empty storefront.” Instead, he thinks successful shops will have a modest showroom for customers but dedicate significant floor space to creating those products in the back.
Steel-casement windows
The Tool Building team has some experience with supporting tenants on this street. Since 2022, they have owned the commercial building two blocks east at 7323 NE Glisan Street, which extends the full width of the city block and has frontages on NE 73rd and 74th Avenues. Neburka says that space hosts a community of fabricators who often support one another and benefit from being in the same space. They hope to similarly find complementary tenants for the Tool Building and are taking a thoughtful approach to signing leases. “We want to find—not in a snobby way—the right group of people that elevate each other,” explained Neburka. “That’s one of the things we found up the street, having a bunch of fabricators [in one building]. It’s nice to have that community. It’s not borrowing a cup of sugar but borrowing a saw blade, bringing value out of those human connections.”
Rendering of the Tool Building unit courtesy Bill Neburka EAO
Despite the leasing success at their other locations, the Tool Building owners see value in having a more customer-facing activity at this site with a wider definition of “makers.” Tool Building co-owner Michael Quinn is also the primary owner of Sparrow Salon’s building at 7243 NE Glisan Street. That location hosts a longtime local business, which adds value on-site and brings the community into the space. The Tool Building team suspects that the same community-serving, gathering-space model could do well down the street. “We’re focusing on creating a nucleus for the neighborhood, I think that’s really where things are at now,” said Neburka. “I think that these buildings begin to become more than just themselves, more than just one space, a place where people can come and interact with people who are making their stuff or food, and it becomes a real collecting spot for our neighborhood.”
Pre-restoration Steel-casement windows and door seen in rendering above
Inside the building, the space is still raw, with just a few stud-framed walls built to show divided space for prospective tenants. The design team wants to preserve much of the century-old building’s character. They will clean and repair the commercial steel-casement windows along the NE 72nd Avenue frontage that give the building its industrial character. They will then create new wood-framed storefront glazing in the existing openings facing NE Glisan Street, with a centrally located atrium containing an American with Disabilities Act (ADA)- compliant entry ramp. That covered opening will have direct access to two storefronts and a central hallway that leads to additional units and shared three-stall restroom facilities. The 7,139-square-foot building features several skylights, making internal spaces naturally bright during the day.
Floor plan courtesy Evident Architecture Office (EAO)
The southwest corner was the historic laundry’s old mechanical room, and still features the ceiling-mounted line shaft power-driven rotating pulleys that provided mechanical power transmission to the commercial washers. The building owners think this space would be an ideal location for a food or bar service establishment. It has two skylights and a large roll-up door at the back that could open to a secluded outdoor seating area.
Rendering of the Tool Building food or bar unit courtesy Bill Neburka EAO
The team has developed a tenancy vision for the space, but must carefully consider the impacts of Change of Use or Change of Occupancy. Those adjustments can trigger substantial Systems Development Charges (SDCs) to the property owner. Portland collects these fees to offset the impact a project may have on the City’s streets, water, storm runoff management, and sanitary sewer systems. They can also add funds for parks and recreation facilities. In 2025, the Portland City Council temporarily exempted newly created housing units from paying SDCs to encourage more construction in that market. However, that does not apply to commercial projects like the Tool Building, and any potential tenant who wants to use the space in a way that triggers SDC fees would need to pay rent at a rate sufficient to cover those charges.
Pre-restoration Tool Building food or bar unit seen in rendering above
Commercial property owners can not simply rent space to any tenant. They often need to consider the long-term viability of the business to fulfill its lease and whether it will significantly change the building’s use in a way that requires them to pay the city’s SDCs. Neburka said they recently had to reverse course due to such a fee. “We got hit when we changed the front space in the building up the street. We changed that to retail, and the development charges from PBOT (Portland Bureau of Transportation) were huge. It’s onerous, to the point we’re changing it back,” explained Neburka. “At the City… there is a thirst for money, and nobody’s getting the message that it doesn’t work. It literally doesn’t work.” In this case, SDC charges can create a situation where a prospective tenant’s business could drive up property expenses to the point that the leased rate is no longer affordable to the operator or the building owner has to forgo revenue. “The charge is enough that it would be our entire profit off a three-year lease, so at what point does it make any sense for us to do it?” Neburka said.
Historic laundry ceiling-mounted line shaft power-driven rotating pulley
With that recent change in occupancy experience, the Tool Building team will favor certain business types but remains flexible and open to hearing from a variety of groups. “I think we’re interested in talking to anybody right now, especially fabrication, especially art-focused. I mean, it’s close to our heart, it’s what we see the building being part of, but we’d love to hear from anybody who wants a space to do something,” Neburka explained. “I think that the design is going to be a blue-collar building. We’re just trying to be smart about it, and we’re hoping that the way we approach it will be attractive to the community.”
The team is working on building permits and bank financing for the project. Interested prospective tenants can contact JJ Hewitt with Cloud City Realty via email at jj@cloudcityrealty.com or by phone at 971-339-1456.
Rendering of the Tool Building entry courtesy Bill Neburka EAO
Recently, the members of Montavilla United Methodist Church voted to demolish all their buildings at 232 SE 80th Avenue to create three stories of affordable housing above a new ground-level worship space that will also share resources with support organization Rahab’s Sisters. Reverend Heather Riggs explained that this site transformation will embrace the faith-based group’s efforts to provide resources it sees needed in the community while reducing its operational burden of maintaining an aging building. The project is in pre-development with a target completion date of 2030. Until the city approves permits, parishioners and users of the midcentury building will continue to gather there.
Riggs said they plan to maximize housing options on the site while respecting the neighborhood’s scale and preserving on-site parking for the gathering space. The 0.88-acre property occupies nearly a full block and is shared with only one single-family residence. The Residential Multi-Dwelling 2 zoning of the site allows up to four stories and has a three-to-one Floor Area Ratio through bonus provisions for affordable housing.
Montavilla United Methodist Church December 2024
Riggs explained they are in a pre-development phase and working to formalize a relationship with a prospective developer who will take ownership of the property and rent back the ground floor to the congregation at a discounted rate. The agreement will target an Area Median Income (AMI) restriction for future residents of 30 to 60 percent for the anticipated 72 units of regulated affordable housing. The Methodist Church wants the property to remain affordable for at least 60 years. “We would like to be in the 30 [AMI] range because that’s what’s affordable for our local baristas and for our local restaurant workers,” said Riggs. “This is not free housing. This is housing for people who work, who cannot afford to live in the city where they work.”
The final configuration of units and income targets depends on the funding available at the time of construction. Riggs noted that affordable housing projects require specialized skill sets to fund and manage. That is why the congregation and regional Methodist leadership are planning to transfer the land to another group rather than keeping it under church control. “Honestly, one of our priorities has been to get out of the business of building management so that we can focus on ministry,” said Riggs. The older property, built between the 1940s and 1950s, takes considerable funds to maintain. The building also sits empty more often than it is occupied, attracting unwanted attention and vandalism. Church leadership feels that having people living above the worship space will make the property more active and safer for the surrounding community.
Demolishing the building could seem like a loss of history, but Riggs explained it is part of the site’s tradition to adapt to changing needs. Initially, a large wooden structure painted white served as a place of worship at this site. That was torn down to make way for the larger facility that accommodated a growing congregation in the 1950s. Now the faith community sees the mission changing again. The city needs housing, and the younger members of the church started the conversation around adapting the site’s use to address both faith and service to Portland’s needs.
A committee of knowledgeable members will take on preservation work, identifying the precious items that need to become part of the new facility. “We have plans to incorporate a lot of things into the new building. We want to incorporate some of the stained glass into the new building, but we’re thinking of placing it on interior walls, lighting hallways,” said Riggs. “We would like to preserve at least one of the upside-down boat arches in our worship space, and we’d like to preserve the bell, creating a small bell tower.” The “Precious Team” will work right up to demolition, preserving everything that matters to the congregation’s history. “We will be going through that process of honoring the history of those who came before us and celebrating that history,” remarked Riggs. Part of that celebration will be the opening of a time capsule on the front of the building.
Portland Maps image showing 232 SE 80th Ave
During the demolition and construction phases, church members will share space with the Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, less than a mile away at 6161 SE Stark Street. Before work begins, the design team will hold public meetings to gather community feedback on the project’s design. Riggs wants this site to meet the faith organization’s goals of serving those most in need while still playing a positive role in the wider community. As a community advisory committee member for the nearby Oak Street Village shelter, Riggs feels it is important for working people transitioning back into stable housing to have a place to move into. The church members also know this property is central to the neighborhood and asked the developer to include a garden and green space to keep it an attractive element of Montavilla’s historic downtown.
Reverend Heather Riggs hopes to speak to the Montavilla Neighborhood Association about the project at a future meeting. When the developer is formally secured for the housing, the design phases will begin, and community members can expect to learn more and provide input. Riggs wants people to know these changes will create a safer, more secure site that remains a useful resource for Rahab’s Sisters to build on its over 20 years of community support, and for the church to add to its 100-year history.
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Neighborhood news site focused on buildings and changing businesses
