Crews working with Pacific Power recently began significant construction on the Banfield Substation at 9380 NE Halsey Street. The power utility says the new distribution project will reduce the load on existing substations, creating greater stability for current customers and supporting increased demand from new developments in the Montavilla and Gateway areas. Project planners anticipate the new substation will come online by mid 2027.
Portland Maps overhead view showing site outline and demolished buildings
Montavilla News reported on the proposed substation at the Interstate 84 adjacent site in 2022. PacifiCorp purchased the industrial property below freeway ramps and MAX light rail tracks at the end of 2017. Pacific Power, a division of PacifiCorp, provides electricity to Montavilla properties north of SE Stark Street, and its grid extends north to the Columbia River. In 2018, the power utility cleared all three metal-clad buildings from the site to make way for a power distribution substation. These facilities play a critical role in maintaining the local power grid as service demands increase, transforming voltage levels and managing the flow of electricity between power plants and customers.
Drew Marine, a Communications Specialist for Pacific Power, explained that this is not a replacement facility, but part of the company’s long-term plans to manage rising power demand while upgrading the existing power delivery network. “This is a new distribution project being built to relieve load growth on neighboring substations,” remarked Marine. “This project will also upgrade existing transmission lines, which will improve reliability for existing customers and create capacity for new customer requests in Northeast Portland.”
Energy experts predicted a jump in the region’s power demand as developers built new buildings with accommodations for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging. Construction volume has decreased from previous estimates; however, energy use continues to grow. Many builders rely entirely on electricity as they remove carbon-emitting natural gas appliances and heating systems, switching to heat pumps for heating and cooling. The increased power efficiency of new devices has somewhat limited the burden on the power grid. Still, increased air-conditioning use in more homes, for more of the year, requires more electricity than Portland historically used.
Pacific Power contractors are preparing the ground-level facilities on the site and staging the tall heavy-duty steel frameworks that will support high-voltage electrical equipment and overhead power lines. After years of planning, the Banfield Substation should be in service in mid-2027, well ahead of demand. Its location should reduce the impact of rising power usage from new construction and improve reliability for existing customers. Commuters by car and transit will soon see the site take shape as structures rise in this industrial section of the neighborhood.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
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Renewable energy specialists are installing a new solar panel array on the grassy, sloped southern edge of a former landfill along NE 82nd Avenue, now owned by Bird Alliance of Oregon. Once complete, the community solar array will reduce utility costs for 140 low-income Portlanders through a collaboration with APANO, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and other partners. The new energy source at 2800 NE 82nd Avenue uses the site’s topography to receive year-round sun exposure while staying low to the ground, making the installation less visible, particularly as the nonprofit continues habitat restoration on its 12.49-acre property purchased in 2024.
Top edge of solar array on Bird Alliance 82nd Ave property extending just above grass
Crews have placed over half of the solar panels on a metal gridwork that supports them. Most people passing the site will not see all of the units, which sit a few feet above the ground, with views blocked by the adjacent People’s Courts pickleball facility. However, they will contribute 800 kW of renewable energy to the grid. The array operators expect credits from the electricity generated at the site to reduce participant low-income households’ energy bills by up to 40%. Portland Pacific Power customers who directly pay their own utility bill and earn up to 80% of Oregon’s Median Income can apply to APANO’s community solar project as a low-income subscriber and potentially receive credits on their utility bill. The organization describes community solar as a way for people historically left out of traditional solar to benefit without buying their own solar panels. APANO also has a Residential Rooftop Solar program that uses Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) money to install solar panels for homeowners. That program launched to serve 14 homes, while this latest effort should support 140 power ratepayers.
Solar array on Bird Alliance 82nd Ave property seen from NE Russell St
This new activity follows habitat restoration and the demolition of long-abandoned structures. For decades, this overgrown field was known for the graffiti-covered remnants of a golf driving range built on top of a landfilled quarry. For most passersby, all they observed was an abandoned building at 2806 NE 82nd Avenue, situated next to a tall, grassy field. Hidden inside the overgrown brush was the collapsing structure of a half-moon driving range. Several fires in the former “Pro Shop” administrative building on NE 82nd Avenue complicated its demolition. However, in September 2025, crews completed removing this site’s golfing past.
PCEF supported construction of this community solar array across NE 82nd Avenue from McDaniel High School as its seventh community solar project. It is one of the first public benefits planned for the Bird Alliance of Oregon site, which will host nature trails and a wildlife hospital that should provide educational opportunities for area students. Work on the solar array is proceeding quickly and should be visibly complete within the coming weeks. More visible changes to the site will continue over the coming years.
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Heavy equipment is on-site at SE 89th Avenue, north of Brooklyn Street, grading the former gravel road ahead of crews laying asphalt. This segment of city street was never paved in its over 100 years of existence, connecting to SE 90th Place. Now a 40-unit complex at 2905 SE 89th Avenue is nearing completion, and contractors with that project will create a modern street on the west side of the road with a sidewalk buffered by a curbside planting strip. The new curb will channel rainwater toward a low spot on the hill, where a recently installed stormwater inlet will collect rainwater from the paved street section.
The Jade apartments broke ground in January 2025 as a joint venture between APANO and Gorman & Company on a 1.1-acre property. The nearly complete building at the SE 89th Avenue site will offer affordable family apartments in a dual-courtyard configuration. Development at this scale in Portland requires builders to create sidewalks, stormwater management, and a paved road to city standards. This work often only extends to the center line of the street along the property’s frontage. However, the work underway now will pave 20 feet from the new curb towards the center of the road and extend about 100 feet north and south, widening to connect with existing pavement. Eric Jacobson with Gorman & Co. explained that the improved street will flare out to the full road width where it connects with the paved SE 89th Avenue at SE Brooklyn Street and SE 90th Place.
SE 89th Avenue gravel road with potholes looking north from Brooklyn St in 2025
Oregon Metro owns the property along the east side of the street in this area. It purchased the 1.46-acre property in July 2025 for planned Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Community advocates have long envisioned the large Metro-owned property as a neighborhood park. Organizers will hold an open house on October 1st about community interests, including public green space in that development. That site’s redevelopment will include street paving and sidewalk frontage improvements on the east side of SE 89th Avenue with new sidewalks that should wrap around the corner lot along its frontage on SE 90th Place, which is paved but lacks curbs and sidewalks in most places in this area.
West sidewalk on SE 89th Ave looking south from existing sidewalk towards new sidewalk path
This month, cement masons working on the new curbs and pedestrian infrastructure will add six-foot-wide sidewalks on the west side of the street, adjacent to the Jade Apartment development, connecting to the existing sidewalk to the north. They have also created four-and-a-half-foot-wide planting strips for trees, greenery, and utility poles. Through-traffic along the SE 89th Avenue is blocked between SE Brooklyn Street and SE 90th Place. When completed, this will reconnect the city street grid with a paved north-south route that poor road conditions and large potholes often blocked. Although the street is only partially paved, it should still be wide enough for people to drive, walk, or bike along the mostly paved sections.
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This week, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will continue road work that began on August 19 along NE Glisan Street between NE 82nd and NE 92nd avenues. Drivers in the area are encountering new traffic patterns and slower speeds as re-striping teams add painted bike lanes on completed segments of the project site and new signage arrives from NE 81st to NE 92nd Avenues. Workers have not restored all lane markings to the repaved half of the project site closest to NE 82nd Street. Road users should use extra caution until work is completed and anticipate delays during the 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday work schedule.
New eastbound bike lane segment started on NE Glisan St near NE 83rd Ave (Jacob Loeb)
This Fixing Our Streets-funded project included substantial updates to sidewalk corner curb ramps, bringing crossings in this area up to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- compliant standards. In addition to creating a smoother driving surface for vehicles, this new phase of work will reconfigure the street to remove time-shifting outer lanes used for parking or as an auxiliary travel lane. Collisions occurred on this street where motorists parked cars during allotted times, but drivers may have assumed the outer lane was clear. PBOT engineers anticipate that removing that conflict point will yield significant safety improvements with minimal impact on vehicle throughput.
The new NE Glisan bike lanes will connect NE 81st Avenue and NE 93rd Avenue. Early concepts for the cycling infrastructure showed the bike lane extending west to NE 80th. However, area business concerns over losing frequently used street parking on that block prompted a design that still helps connect side-street bike routes for people crossing NE 82nd Avenue outside a car, while minimizing impacts to adjacent commercial property users. PBOT planners anticipate further improving the bike infrastructure in 2030 with hardscape concrete dividers and flex posts to protect cyclists riding next to cars. The reconfiguration is happening during this repaving project to save money. Otherwise, contractors would need to grind off existing street markers and repaint as part of the 2030 work.
NE Glisan St existing crossing at NE 87th Ave that crews will upgrade
NE Glisan Street, from Interstate 205 to 82nd Avenue, is a notoriously challenging roadway to cross with vehicles driving quickly between the two points. Without any fully signalized intersections on this stretch and with a large hill blocking visibility, it can take an extended period to find a safe break in traffic to cross. Crews working with PBOT will install two new pedestrian crossings with concrete median islands at NE 84th and 90th avenues, along with enhancements to an existing crossing at NE 87th Avenue. These in-roadway waypoints allow pedestrians to cross in two phases, focusing on one direction of traffic at a time, and help drivers better see a person waiting at the high-visibility infrastructure.
In the coming days, crews will grind down the eastern segment of the roadway and lay a fresh road surface. Cyclists should consider safer routes until NE Glisan is fully re-striped, and all street users should plan extra travel time as people adjust to the new configuration and speed limits on this segment of NE Glisan.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
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Wendy’s has reportedly experienced several straight quarters of U.S. sales losses while Burger King has worked to rehabilitate its image and earn back customers. This comeback is attributed in part to property investments and the hiring of head chef Amy Alarcon, who previously worked at Popeyes, designing that company’s chicken sandwich, which went viral on social media in 2019. The company also began courting vegetarian and vegan customers in 2019 with the plant-based WHOPPER ® burger made with Impossible meat, which customers can order without mayonnaise and have cooked on a separate surface to remove animal products.
Burger King is predominantly a franchise chain, with this location operated by Ambrosia QSR and the underlying property owned by Weston Investment Co. Portland businessman and developer Joseph Weston recently donated his remaining commercial properties to the Weston Public Foundation managed by Oregon Community Foundation. The franchise operator, Ambrosia QSR, operates over 200 Pacific Northwest restaurants under the Burger King, Arby’s, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen brands. An Arby’s is next door to this location at 10071 SE Washington Street.
Investment in this area has rebounded among fast food establishments over the last few years, with the opening of a new Chick-fil-A a block over from the Burger King in January and Chipotle replacing a Baja Fresh storefront in 2024 across SE Washington Street from this location. City code allows renovation work at these pre-existing fast-food locations despite the area’s new zoning. City officials up-zoned much of the land in the Gateway Regional Center in the late 1990s, making this block Central Commercial (CX) which is designated for high-density commercial developments within Portland’s most urban spaces like the downtown area. If this were a completely new building project, the team would need to construct a much larger building to meet minimum density standards.
The remodel approach should also allow this store to retain its drive-through facility. A 2018 Portland City Council-enacted ban on new drive-throughs in commercial zones has prompted many existing Eastside restaurant locations to remodel. The pre-existing status has elevated the location’s value, as businesses seek to retain historical uses that would not be allowed under new building standards. This project is in the early planning stages and may change based on city feedback or other business decisions. However, it represents further investment in the Mall 205 area among fast food and established national brands.
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Road crews will begin repaving NE Glisan Street between NE 82nd and NE 92nd avenues on Wednesday, August 19th. The approximately two-lane-miles of resurfacing work will take an estimated twelve business days to complete as heavy equipment grinds off the damaged top layer of asphalt and lays down a fresh mixture of crushed stone and bitumen. The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) re-striping plans will create a paint-buffered bike lane next to a single travel lane in each direction and recreate the center turn lane. Cement masons will add two new pedestrian crossing islands along the busy High Crash Street, with an existing crossing at NE 87th Avenue updated to prevent some left turns while better protecting pedestrians and cyclists.
Existing RRFB on NE Glisan St at 87th Ave
This Fixing Our Streets-funded project included substantial updates to sidewalk corner curb ramps, bringing crossings in this area up to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- compliant standards. Starting in May, Crews working with Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) installed modern stormwater management sump drains under NE Glisan Street at the intersections of NE 91st and 92nd Avenues. In addition to creating a smoother driving surface for vehicles, this new phase of work will reconfigure the street to remove time-shifting outer lanes used for parking or as an auxiliary travel lane. Collisions occurred on this street where motorists parked cars during allotted times, but drivers may have assumed the outer lane was clear. PBOT engineers anticipate that removing that conflict point will yield significant safety improvements with minimal impact on vehicle throughput.
Project map courtesy PBOT
The new NE Glisan bike lanes will add a connection between NE 81st Avenue and NE 93rd Avenue. Early concepts for the cycling infrastructure showed the bike lane extending west to NE 80th. However, area business concerns over losing frequently used street parking on that block prompted a design that still helps people riding outside a car cross NE 82nd Avenue to meet up with side-street bike routes while minimizing impacts to adjacent commercial property users. PBOT planners anticipate further improving the bike infrastructure in 2030 with hardscape concrete dividers and flex posts to protect cyclists riding next to cars. The reconfiguration is happening during this repaving project to save money. Otherwise, contractors would need to grind off existing street markers and repaint as part of the 2030 work.
NE Glisan Paving and Safety Project 30% Design Concept illustration of NE 84th Ave. Courtesy PBOT
NE Glisan Street, from Interstate 205 to 82nd Avenue, is a notoriously challenging roadway to cross with vehicles driving quickly between the two points. Without any fully signalized intersections on this stretch and with a large hill blocking visibility, it can take an extended period to find a safe break in traffic to cross. In 2021, PBOT lowered the speed limit to 30 mph, but that still did not significantly improve crossing safety for people inside or outside a vehicle. The two new pedestrian crossings with concrete median islands at NE 84th and 90th avenues should help pedestrians cross in two phases, where they can focus on one direction of traffic at a time, and drivers can better see a person waiting at the high-visibility infrastructure.
NE Glisan Paving and Safety Project 30% Design Concept illustration of NE 90th Ave. Courtesy PBOT
The NE 87th Avenue crossing already features street-adjacent buttons that activate Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to signal to drivers that bikes or pedestrians will cross soon. The updates will extend an existing concrete median island east with cutouts for cyclists crossing. This extended mid-street infrastructure will prevent northbound and westbound drivers from turning left at this intersection.
Updated median at NE 87th Ave with left turns prohibited for north and west automotive travel. Courtesy PBOT
PBOT notes that paving and painting work is weather-dependent, so that project work dates may change. Drivers can expect rougher roads during the grinding and resurfacing process and should anticipate traffic delays with detours from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with some weekend work. Parking on NE Glisan in the project area will end a few days before work begins, but pedestrian access will remain open. Anyone traveling through the worksite should follow all traffic control signs and flaggers and use heightened caution.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
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Work is underway on a housing development at 3128 SE 90th Place, where a local builder will create nine new homes behind the existing 1927-era house. It features four duplex structures and one detached home, accessed from a long private roadway along the northern edge of the lot. Each of the around 1,700-square-foot homes will stand three stories tall to allow space for attached garages and four bedrooms. Developer Ken Yu updated this project from an apartment concept to better match the street’s existing design context and balance housing with tree canopy.
Yu, a longtime developer of commercial and residential projects focused in East Portland, explained he looks for projects that integrate with the existing neighborhood while making space for new members of the community. He also said he likes to balance buildings and nature. “I’m a Chinese-American, and I grew up with the idea of the yin and yang balance,” explained Yu. “I don’t like too much building or too much landscaping. I think we need to strike the balance between the two. When you walk into a neighborhood with tall buildings and concrete, all that without any green space or natural landscape, it doesn’t feel right.” His personal discomfort in overbuilt spaces encourages his use of planted natural landscape while preserving existing trees. “Those big trees, we really love them,” remarked Yu. “That’s why we went out of our way to try to retain them [at this site].” The new development will provide a dedicated communal recreation area in the southeast corner of the property, with play equipment surrounded by greenery.
3128 SE 90th SE Pl site map, courtesy Ken Yu
When Yu first looked at this project, he imagined the site could hold three apartment buildings containing six units each for a total of 18 units. “We actually started the permit processing and submitted plans for permits,” recalled Yu. However, his team reevaluated the scale of that initial project, feeling it would not fit in with the existing housing in the area. So they decided to take a different approach focused on homeownership instead of rentals. “We had to cancel that permit and go with the four duplexes and one single detached home because we really think that this will work a lot better with the area, match the neighborhood, and also we want it to be more family-oriented,” said Yu.
The new three-level houses will have two and a half bathrooms. In addition to vehicle storage, the ground floor supports a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom at the back of the house. Yu explained this is a nice feature for multi-generation families or for people with mobility considerations. “If the family has older people that don’t want to go up the stairs, they can live in the ground floor bedrooms. making it more accessible for them.” The second floor supports a kitchen and living room along with a powder room/half-bathroom. The top level has three bedrooms and one shared bathroom.
Example of stamped concrete finish on an 82nd Ave raised median
The rescaled project took longer than expected to obtain approved building permits due to a required land use review. City code 33.120.206 says if the site is more than 160 feet deep, new dwelling units are prohibited unless the site has at least 90 feet of frontage on a street or meets certain exceptions. Yu said this 250-foot-deep site was only a few feet short of the frontage requirement, prompting a review. “They said the land use review takes six months, but it actually took a year, over a year,” recalled Yu. He said the permitting process went well with only one notable change to the proposed plans. The city requested that the shared private access road use a stamped concrete finish. That process utilizes rubber pads with a design pressed into the drying concrete to create patterns that mimic stone or brickwork. Several newly created raised medians on 82nd Avenue used this process to create a red brick appearance, while still keeping installation costs lower than using bricks.
City standards required the development to create curbs and sidewalks in front of the property as the street did not already have them. Yu was required to remove the existing driveway used by the original home to create the new curb cut leading to the private lane. Many developers install the sidewalk at the end of the project to prevent damage by construction vehicles and allow easy access as they dig up the property for utility lines. Yu likes to install the frontage improvements early on in the process when possible. “We try to do those first because we try to improve the scenery for the neighbors, shortening the disturbance as much as possible. We think that this will benefit our neighbors.” Pedestrians walking in the area can now use the less than 100 feet of new sidewalk. It will likely take over a decade for this infrastructure to connect to other sidewalks on this street, but it sets a framework for the future streetscape planned for the neighborhood. That could come from other infill projects like this one or public investment similar to the 2025 work done on SE Clinton Street.
New sidewalk, planting strip, and curb along 3128 SE 90th Pl frontage
The developer expects these homes will appeal to a range of families, as they will use sturdy materials like water-resistant luxury vinyl plank flooring and granite countertops. “I think it’s a great location, conveniently close to a shopping center and the light rail. Our vision is that these would be a great home for working families and also new immigrants that rely on public transportation or bicycle rather than having to drive a long way to get to a shopping area,” explained Yu. “This is within walking distance to Eastport Plaza and all the Asian shopping centers. So it’s a really convenient location.”
Work is underway now but tucked behind the newly updated street frontage and the existing house. Ken Yu hopes the months of construction work will not be overly disruptive to the neighborhood and that people will appreciate the project’s adjusted scale. When completed, the homes will sell under a condominium model, similar to other developments in the area that share a private access roadway.
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On September 7th, 2024, the Belmont Library closed for renovations that tripled its original size with a two-story addition to the 1924-era brick building. Demolition crews removed portions of the building added in 2000 and part of the parking lot to make way for the now-completed addition. Despite its modest 5,420-square-foot capacity, this branch was one of the busiest locations in the entire Multnomah County Library system before closing. During the closure, patrons visited a temporary branch at 3557 SE Hawthorne Boulevard. Library staff provided extra effort to keep the temporary location open even as they worked to ready the new facility for this opening weekend. However, the community has been without a local pickup location since August 3rd, and the hold shelves at the new location are already populated with an impressive number of reserved books, according to staff.
This work is part of a voter-approved library expansion initiative and represents the last major update to complete the work. Bora Architecture and Interiors designed this cross-laminated timber expansion featuring wood products from Oregon and Washington. Crews created dedicated areas for different age groups of readers. The entire century-old part of the building serves the youngest patrons and their caregivers with interactive and tactile displays, size-appropriate furniture, and shelves of children’s books. This area also features remembrances of Jeanie Diaz, a youth librarian killed by a driver who crashed into a bus stop near the library where she was waiting in 2023. People can see a note from one of Diaz’s two children inside an interactive display. Library representatives say a plaque honoring Jeanie Diaz is also planned for the space.
A note from Jeanie Diaz’s child included in the Belmont Library’s kids reading room interactive display.
In addition to the kids’ room, holds pick-up area, and Lucky Day items shelves, the first floor also features a large reservable community space for gatherings and events. Other amenities and the primary book shelves are on the second floor, accessed by two elevators and a public staircase at the front of the building. Visitors can find flexible meeting spaces with updated technology, laptops for on-site work, and fixed computer stations. Library staff understand the changing role of the public resource they provide. Consequently, high-speed internet throughout the facility is a key feature of these upgrades, along with access to printers and other digital tools people require to connect with job opportunities and services. This top-floor space also offers a teen area with facilities for homework and creative expression, alongside young-adult book titles on the adjacent shelves.
Fabric artwork mimicking large scale pages torn a spiral notebook created by Britt Howard
Above the teen space is the fabric artwork by Britt Howard that looks like a paper airplane made from a lined spiral notebook page. A paper fortune teller and a crumpled ball flank the classic folded flyer. Its exaggerated scale and playful, soft-sculpted schoolroom shapes provide a sense of place where young people fight boredom and embrace their own interests. The upper walls of the second floor feature a mural with over 200 handmade objects integrated into the artwork. It is the creation of Pacific Northwest artist Emily Counts.
LED lights with device charging ports at a reading table in the library shelves
The new library offers four on-site parking spaces. Two are reserved for people with a Disabled Person Parking Permit to use without a time limit, and the other two are available for quick visits that are less than 15 minutes. Crews reconstructed the sidewalk around Belmont Library, making more space for pedestrians and adding locations with enlarged bicycle parking that can support cargo bikes. Landscapers have planted new street trees to replace some cut down during construction and have also installed other public amenities around the property.
Automated material handling equipment sorts returned books into bins
Technology improvements in the facility also assist staff with automated material handling, which sorts returned books into bins for transfer or reshelving. Kiosks throughout the building allow people to find titles and resources or check out items without needing to find a person for assistance. However, public feedback made clear that people visiting this branch also enjoy the human interaction. So the library features strategically located desks in public places so that an employee is often accessible to visitors and staff can see if people need help. They also use an in-building communication system that lets everyone stay in contact wherever they are for support and collaboration that isn’t tied to a desk.
People interested in joining the weekend celebration starting at 9:30 a.m. on August 15th can park in the Walgreens lot to the north of the library or take public transit to the location. After the office opening, the library will resume its normal schedule and welcome back an eager public to this well-used community resource.
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On Tuesday, August 11, and Wednesday, August 12, road crews will close the Interstate-84 Entrance and Eastbound traffic on the overpass above NE 82nd Ave and I-84 for microsurfacing work. Contractors working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will apply a fast‑curing asphalt treatment to the road surface, filling minor ruts and improving the pavement’s condition. During the application process, motorists will need to use temporary detours.
Portland Maps image with MV News notation of detour routes. Red for I-84 Westbound and blue for eastbound Halsey
PBOT recommends eastbound drivers on NE Halsey use NE 81st Avenue at the Halsey Street roundabout, then turn onto NE Wasco Street. Next, people can use northbound NE 82nd Avenue to then turn onto NE Jonesmore Street, which reconnects with NE Halsey. Travelers intending to use I‑84 westbound should continue west on NE Halsey, turning south onto NE 60th Avenue, then take a right at NE Glisan Street to access the I‑84 westbound on‑ramp at NE 59th Avenue. Contractors will keep the I‑84 on‑ramp open during peak travel hours, but drivers should be prepared to use the detour if directed to by the onsite crew or signage.
New two‑way protected bike infrastructure on NE Halsey St
The two-day project work is just one phase of the overpass updates needed to complete this leg of improvements. Future installation of protective fencing over the bridge, striping of a new two-way bike facility over the bridge, and vertical separation of the two-way bike lane are tentatively anticipated in October 2026. That work will also require temporary lane closures. This activity is part of the NE Halsey Street (80th to 92nd Avenues) – Safety and Access to Transit Project, which aims to improve safety for those traveling outside of cars along this busy High Crash street. The new two‑way protected bike infrastructure on NE Halsey provides a continuous connection from the new mini-roundabout at NE 81st Avenue to NE 92nd Avenue. This upgrade links cyclists directly to existing bike infrastructure and creates new sidewalks for people walking to the NE 82nd Avenue MAX station from the business corridor and nearby residential neighborhoods.
Work schedules are subject to change. PBOT will update reader boards positioned along NE Halsey Street and the project website with the latest schedule information.
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Crews recently cleared an overgrown parcel where a fire-damaged house at 2826 SE 87th Avenue had caused years of concern for neighbors who witnessed repeated illegal dumping on the property. The 95-by-180-foot lot is slated to support 10 new townhomes, offering future residents just under 1,000 square feet of living space across two floors. This development abuts the back of the three-story Jade apartments, nearing completion at 2905 SE 89th Avenue.
Portland Maps image with MV News illustration showing the The Jade apartments in red, right of 2826 SE 87th Ave
This area is zoned Residential Multi-Dwelling 1 (RM1), allowing low-scale multi-dwelling construction, generally two or three stories tall, with a 1:1 Floor Area Ratio (FAR). That provision would allow a single-story building to cover the entire property or two floors to occupy 50% of the land. Affordable housing can trigger a density bonus increasing FAR to 2:1. The zone also has a Minimum Density requirement for new housing of 1 unit per 2,500 square feet of site area. For this site, it is around a 6-unit minimum, but that can be adjusted based on site conditions.
The recent site activity cleared several mature trees and the remaining debris from the lot, which had sat vacant for years. A 2017 fire damaged the house owned by the Baker family for decades. The property was later sold, but suffered a catastrophic fire in 2021, which firefighters allowed to burn due to unsafe conditions inside the residence. In 2023, the city began foreclosure proceedings on nine distressed properties, including the one on SE 87th Avenue. Later, it failed to find a buyer at a foreclosure auction in January 2025 after a previous failed attempt in late 2024. According to Multnomah County records, Community Revitalization LLC acquired the property in March 2025 and sold it to its current owner a year ago for $265,000.
Site condition on September 12, 2022
The redevelopment work will provide ten new homes and replace a longstanding problem property. The units will not have attached garages. However, site development permits indicate it will offer some on-site parking for cars and bicycles, along with an outdoor common space and a shared trash enclosure. Building permits are still Under Review and could take several months before contractors can begin work. The recent clearing of the property should help alleviate area residents’ concerns about dumping, now that the site is visible from all angles, including from the back of the property, where a 40-unit complex will soon start welcoming new residents, providing additional eyes on 2826 SE 87th Avenue.
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.
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