Raimore Construction, working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), will continue road reconstruction and repaving along SE 82nd Avenue between SE Mill and Harrison Streets over the next few weeks. Crews have already repaved half of the project area, creating a smooth asphalt surface for the two southbound lanes from SE Mill Street to just past SE Harrison Street. Construction markers direct motorists to share the completed section of roadway, allowing a single lane in each direction until workers complete the equivalent northbound lanes.
Outer lane of SE 82nd Ave with hydraulic breaker hammer driven holes ahead of demolition
Unlike many repaving projects that grind off the top layer of asphalt and replace it with a fresh mixture of aggregate and bitumen, this project requires more significant work in the outer lanes of the former State Highway. In its early stages, 82nd Avenue initially supported only three lanes of traffic, with one lane for vehicles traveling in each direction and a center turn lane. Transportation officials reserved the outer edges of the street for parking, and engineers did not build parking pavement to the same standard as the street’s center. When transportation officials removed parking to add another travel lane in each direction, they did not update the road’s supporting base, leading to premature wear. Crews working on this project will need to remove the outer lanes to their base layer and reengineer it to support the weight of vehicles in motion above it before repaving the whole surface. The results will provide a smoother road surface that should last longer before requiring future repairs.
Raimore Construction crews removing the northbound SE 82nd Ave outer lanes for reconstruction
This roadwork connects to a recently completed update on 200 feet of SE Mill Street east of SE 82nd Avenue. That project constructed new sidewalks on SE Mill Street in this area, which previously lacked curbs and a dedicated pedestrian walkway. PBOT added wide sidewalks on both sides of the street, featuring tree wells for future street tree planting, which creates a safer segment for the bike greenway and a safe route to school path that runs along this street. Crews also reconstructed the road surface from the base up to replace the pothole-laden street with a new, smooth surface. However, SE Mill Street east of this site, up to 89th Avenue, still lacks curbs and sidewalks but features mature trees lining the somewhat degraded asphalt road surface.
SE Mill Street looking east form SE 82nd Avenue showing new sidewalks roadway
Similar to the work on SE Mill Street, PBOT contractors have added new sidewalk segments along the east side of SE 82nd Avenue from SE Division Street to a mid-block pedestrian crossing. Other sidewalk repairs in the area have improved conditions for people walking or rolling along the street’s edge. This collection of updates on the well-traveled north-south connector is part of the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project —Part of the Building a Better 82nd initiative created to address deferred maintenance issues identified after the jurisdictional transfer of 82nd Avenue from the Oregon Department of Transportation to PBOT on June 1st, 2022.
Drivers should expect delays in this area and follow the crew’s instructions, as people entering and exiting adjacent businesses will require assistance to navigate the construction zone. This roadwork is just one of many PBOT projects underway, all aimed at creating a safer and more stable street. Current projects will extend throughout the year and into 2026. Funding for some of the ongoing work comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which has a deadline of December 31st, 2026, to complete the funded work.
On Sunday, July 27th, the Montavilla East Tabor Business Association (METBA) will host the 12th annual Street Fair on SE Stark Street. Early that morning, crews will close the road from SE 82nd to 76th Avenues along with segments of side streets to allow the 150 booth operators to set up ahead of the 10 a.m. opening. Vendors will sell a variety of items, including food and drinks, unique artwork, handcrafted goods, and clothing. Mixed in with people selling items, organizations will provide information, and performers will entertain the crowds until 6 p.m. Vehicle traffic will resume on the street later that evening after organizers clear the area. Still, people can stay in the neighborhood to visit the bars and restaurants along SE Stark and NE Glisan Streets. Last year, an estimated 25,000 people visited Montavilla’s historic downtown from around the region, participating in the annual 1,400-foot-long community party.
On Wednesday, July 16th, sign installers placed the banner over SE Stark Street at 80th Avenue, announcing the Street Fair dates to everyone passing by. Although many people in the area have already marked the date on their calendars, raising the banner represents Montavilla’s invitation to the city of Portland. Thousands of visitors attend this annual neighborhood event, driving record sales to local businesses and introducing people to the historic Montavilla downtown area.
Event organizers will feature the big brass sounds of a mini HONK! Fest PDX on SE 80th Avenue. People can also enjoy performances at the SE 79th Avenue Plaza Stage next to the Threshold Brewing beer garden. The main stage will feature a diverse mix of local Portland music and national touring artists. Montavilla Brew Works will sponsor a special stage located across from their brewery at SE Stark Street and 78th Avenue, where they will host one of the four beer gardens, with Tinker Tavern and The Observatory rounding out the beer-centered street fair destinations. Many past fair booth operators are returning, alongside a new crop of makers, food vendors, and organizations. As a bonus, the Montavilla Farmers Market will be open during its regular hours on the 27th, providing attendees with access to more booths and food options at SE 76th Avenue and Stark.
Promotion: Montavilla News will have a booth at the fair this year. We will giving away stickers and sell year subscriptions that will come with a logoed hat or pin, while supplies last.
On July 14th, Beer Bunker reopened after a refresh by its new owners, Rob Allred and Kimberley Hill. The brief closure allowed the new owners to secure their approval from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and refresh the tap room with an eye towards improvements that will keep the place looking clean for its loyal patrons. Guests returning to 7918 SE Stark Street will notice the polish but still feel at home, having seen one of the new owners behind the bar for the last five years. Things will change slowly over the coming years as the management invests sweat equity into this 13-year-old staple in Montavilla’s historic downtown.
Co-owner Rob Allred left a career in finance and soon learned of an opportunity to take over the taproom and bottle shop. His partner, Kimberley Hill, has worked at Beer Bunker for half a decade as the manager, helping to drive its success. When Beer Bunker’s founder, Kevin Overby, decided to exit the business, Hill and Allred took a leap together to purchase a place that was special to them. “I’ve met all my greatest friends here. The love of my life, I’ve met here. Yeah, it’s just a great community spot. It almost feels kind of like a clubhouse,” said Hill.
When transitioning ownership, Hill and Allred wanted to pause operations to address issues that would ultimately cause problems in the future and make it harder for the partners to run the shop on their own. The decades-old space required a thorough cleaning, along with the reorganization of inventory storage. Its bathroom needed an overhaul to address long-standing deficiencies that kept it hard to clean and maintain. The pair, with help from friends, also tackled the weathered outdoor picnic tables, sanding and staining the wood. They plan to significantly enhance the outdoor service area behind the shop with more weather coverage, a fire pit, and natural elements to soften the enclosed pea gravel yard, which is popular with the dogs accompanying their humans on a night out. “I want a lot of plants to make it lush and cozy out there,” explained Hill.
The new owners aim to retain much of what made Beer Bunker popular among regulars, while also welcoming new guests. For Hill and Allred, that requires slow updates with deliberate iterations that enhance what Overby built. They are pondering expanding the food options to include items not well represented on SE Stark Street, wanting to supplement the already well-developed menus offered by neighboring businesses. “We want to focus on salty snacks and nachos because there’s not that on the street. It would fill a niche that’s not represented through our partners in the area here,” said Allred.
Hill and Allred will reconfigure the seating to provide more guest space near the windows, presenting people with a pleasing view of Montavilla’s main street and also advertising to passersby that customers are inside enjoying themselves. Kimberley Hill has spent years developing a weekly live music offering at Beer Bunker and intends to keep it thriving with more purpose-built facilities for live performances. They will also collaborate with friends at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade to feature at least five pinball machines in the tap room, allowing them to host weeknight pinball league tournaments. These old-school games will be in addition to the classic arcade cabinets already in the space.
In addition to amenities, the new owners have also focused their efforts on highlighting the beer selection by launching a new Beer Bunker website, bunkerpdx.com, which accurately displays the complete lineup of 24 beers on tap. They also refreshed the tap board, with new paint and increased lighting for better legibility. The reorganization of the west wall clears a path for people to explore Beer Bunker’s hidden feature: a row of glass-fronted coolers where patrons can purchase an extensive range of packaged beer to go. Allred explained that they want to expand the beer selection to build a reputation for having the harder-to-find brews that people will travel from places outside the neighborhood to find.
Posted message from Kevin Overby announcing the sale to customers
Both Allred and Hill are grateful for Kevin Overby’s “passing of the torch” to them, and they threw him a well-attended retirement party on the 13th anniversary of the tap room’s opening, just before closing for the past few weeks. Beer Bunker is now open from 3 to 11 p.m. daily. The new owners are familiar to most regulars, but they are looking to meet new customers so they can show off the cleaned-up space to those people and their dogs. Look for improvements over time and follow the company’s Instagram page for updates on an official grand opening celebration later this month.
Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Greg Beddor – SEO Specialist, an Oregon based digital marketing consultancy. The company markets customer’s websites and provide SEO services to grow their business. We thank them for their support.
On July 15th, crews removed the construction fencing that had been erected around Berrydale Parksince October 2024, during Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) extensive renovations of the nearly 70-year-old community asset. Parkgoers now have access to modernized play equipment and a new skate park, surrounded by sidewalks and enhanced lighting. The city will host a grand reopening celebration at the SE 92nd Avenue and Taylor Street park on August 8th from 3 to 6 p.m.
During 2021 and 2022, PP&R staff collaborated with the community to select the new design for Berrydale Park. Parks department leaders identified this park as an ideal location for expanding city skateboard facilities and designated funds collected from System Development Charges (SDC) for the park’s upgrade. This money is not part of the city’s general fund or the park’s operating budget. Developers pay into the fund when building new structures to support the creation or enhancement of public resources. It is a way to ensure that increased density does not come at the detriment of existing neighborhood infrastructure. During planning, the proposed budget doubled, with then-Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio increasing the allocated funds to $3.0 million from an original $1.5 million budget. This increased funding enabled a significant playground update, accompanied by pathway and lighting enhancements throughout the park.
City staff used the proposed Berrydale Park project as an opportunity to investigate the construction of adjacent sidewalks on SE Taylor Street and 89th Avenue. However, neighbor opposition to their required financial contribution to the project caused the city to focus sidewalk work on park frontages. In December 2022, the Portland City Council amended the SE 89th Ave and Taylor St Local Improvement District (LID) proposal, removing all but one private residence and significantly reducing the scope of infrastructure upgrades. The original LID included the construction of new curbs and sidewalks on both sides of SE 89th Avenue adjacent to Berrydale Park. The proposed LID would have also included continuous sidewalks on the south side of SE Taylor Street, from 92nd Avenue to 89th Avenue, rather than stopping 100 feet short of the whole block.
Graphic showing sidewalk addition. Courtesy PBOT
For months, Portland skaters have expectantly looked through the fencing at the telltale shapes of purpose-built skateboard amenities, including a prominent clover bowl, mini-ramp, railings/rails, and other skills-building elements. North of the cement skate park, crews have created two new play zones with surrounding park benches. Swings, slides, and climbing structures sit atop a rubberized soft base for safe, youthful exploration and play. The green and brown-toned equipment blends into the mature tree canopy, shading a significant portion of the recreation area and cooling the space during our hot summer days.
Area residents have already discovered the park’s new amenities within hours of the fence removal, with people biking, skating, and enjoying the new benches. The PP&R project website indicated that staff took down the construction fence early, before the newly seeded turf areas were established, in response to the community’s request for park access. Consequently, park staff request visitors avoid areas where seedling grass is taking root. People should monitor the Berrydale Park Improvement Project website for more information about the August 8th reopening event.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oregon Metro, and partner organizations will host a community workshop focused on cooling down 82nd Avenue for the health and safety of its residents. The organizers invite people to pre-register for this free event on July 22nd from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. However, organizers are seeking youth participants, renters, and community members who are not often included in planning conversations to participate. The Dharma Rain Zen Center, located at 8500 NE Siskiyou Street, will host this Tuesday evening gathering. Attendees will receive food and beverages, but registration is required, and organizers explained that space is limited.
People familiar with 82nd Avenue understand how hot it is during the summer months, as the corridor exhibits a significant heat island effect, where pavement and other elements increase the temperature higher than surrounding areas. Workshop leaders believe that addressing this Portland urban heat zone requires governments to collaborate with the people who live and work in those areas to develop community-driven ideas for a cooler, healthier, and more interconnected 82nd Avenue.
This workshop will connect attendees with federal, regional, and city government officials working alongside community advocacy groups, including Oregon Walks, the 82nd Avenue Coalition, and APANO. Transit provider TriMet is also a partner organization, as it is working to expand the FX Bus Rapid Transit system along 82nd Avenue with zero-emission buses powered by hydrogen, which emit less exhaust heat.
People interested in participating should register before the slots fill up and consider sharing the information with renters and youth who can contribute their unique perspectives to solutions to the harmful temperatures in the 82nd Avenue community.
Disclosure: The author of this article serves on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the board of the 82nd Avenue Business Association which is a member organization of the 82nd Avenue Coalition.
Broadway Cannabis Market will open a new location in the former Tub and Tan building at 8028 SE Stark Street. The Oregon marijuana dispensary chain signed a five-year lease for the Montavilla storefront in a building currently listed for sale. The company’s owner, Tony Birch, is recognized for introducing an upscale design to the ubiquitous landscape of pot shops across the city, with a notable investment in downtown Portland. He now intends to bring that same model into Montavilla’s historic downtown, with Broadway Cannabis Market’s seventh store expected to open sometime in early 2026.
The location ultimately met several requirements sought by the company when choosing a site for its new storefront. One factor the business owner looks for is a desirable commercial area that may have some underutilized storefronts. “I’m born and raised in Portland and so very familiar with Montavilla in general, and we’ve been keeping our eye on that little downtown strip specifically for quite some time,” said Birch. However, finding available space never surfaced in his research until a chance meeting presented this off-market opportunity. Birch frequents real estate networking events and bumped into the person trying to sell the old Tub and Tan building. “I ended up looking into the property and realized it actually meets all the zoning requirements and the setback requirements, as the land use [restrictions] for cannabis are pretty specific,” explained Birch. Before signing the lease, he visited the area and spoke with local business people to gauge how well his shop would integrate into the community on SE Stark Street. Birch said people seemed generally responsive to the idea of marijuana sales in the area and noted that shops on the street tend to close down around 10 p.m. “We have to close by 10, so it’s great that [Montavilla] wasn’t necessarily a late-night crowd. We have downtown Portland locations, and some of those are disadvantageous because there’s a big 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. crowd that we don’t capitalize on,” explained Birch. Those factors, along with the storefront’s proximity to bars and restaurants and the neighborhood’s general walkability, made it an exciting spot for the chain to expand to.
Portland Cannabis Application map showing Broadway Cannabis Market’s pending application at 8028 SE Stark St. Circles show 1,000 foot exclusion zone around schools in blue and other dispensaries shown in yellow
The in-house design team at Broadway Cannabis Market is reworking the former hot-tubbing and tanning building to optimize customer flow and create back-of-house space that supports store operations. Birch noted that they differ from other marijuana dispensaries with a more open frontage during business hours. “We’re going to design it in a way that’s not ominous or intimidating from a passerby’s perspective. All the windows will be wide open, looking right into the business. We’re not going to have frosted glass or anything. I hate seeing dispensaries where they’re all covered up, it’s not very attractive.” At night, store staff will close external pulldown metal shutters covering the windows. They chose that security measure to avoid using bars in the windows, which Birch says makes places look like a jail and implies that the neighborhood is unsafe. Beyond that, they do not employ other visible security measures or security staff.
They plan to paint the building’s exterior black with a botanical leaf design, similar to other locations under the Broadway Cannabis Market brand. “It’s hand-painted. We’ve got two muralists that we’ve used in the past, Portland-based guys,” said Birch. “It’s very clean and modern, but also artistic, which I hope the neighborhood’s going to like. It’s always been well-received.” Except for paint and signage updates, the exterior will remain essentially unchanged, keeping the same doors and windows. Birch explained that the earthy artistic themes of the mural will extend into the shop. “The Broadway brand is grassroots, Oregon-vibed, Portland-vibed, wood tones, grass tones, neutral colors, artistic feeling on the inside. We’ll [display] poppy-art installations on the interior of the building that give a nice artistic feeling to it.”
Broadway Cannabis Market downtown Portland showing exterior black paint with a botanical leaf mural design. Photo curtesy Broadway Cannabis Market
Attention to the retail space is almost as crucial to the company as its products, stemming from the founder’s background. Tony Birch entered the Cannabis industry through solar power. “My degree’s in renewable energy, and I did that for a handful of years after college and then made the switch to cannabis,” recalled Birch. Around 2014, he transitioned to cannabis growing, employing sustainable farming practices such as recycling rainwater and nutrient-rich water for reuse on the crops. They also used energy-efficient lighting mounted on light movers to reduce power usage, utilizing fewer fixtures that were repositioned over plants as needed, rather than lighting the entire facility. His eye towards environmental concerns followed in his switch to cannabis retail through the responsible sourcing of products. “We prioritize farms that have an eye on renewables. There are a lot of Oregon farms that are very pro-renewables, pro-recycling of their water, pro-living soil beds where they’re not even using [added] nutrients on the regular. We thankfully have great relationships with them, and we prioritize those companies,” said Birch.
Birch explained that Broadway Cannabis Market uses well-informed staff, upscale store design, and competitively priced products to differentiate itself from other operators in the market. They primarily offer the standard dried and cured buds of the cannabis plant referred to as flower in the industry, but have a wide range of other products beyond that that contain elements of the plant. “Our number one selling category is flower, classic flower. Beyond that, it’s pre-rolls,” said Birch. Sister brands of the company manufacture those pre-rolled, ready-to-smoke marijuana cigarettes within a facility in Tigard, Oregon. Vaping cartridges used in electronic cigarettes account for over 20% of store sales, and he expects this to continue in a high-traffic area like Montavilla. They also sell Cannabis edibles. “Gummies are king. Everyone loves their gummies. But beyond that, baked goods, and a lot of cookie options. We’re seeing a lot of interest in the ratios,” explained Birch. Those products contain cannabinol (CBN) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a variable ratio, producing differing effects. “For the people who want the sleepy time stuff, CBN is the cannabinoid that aids in sleep. So we’re increasingly stocking more of [CBN heavy products] and some other ratio gummies that are not just the pure THC,” He notes that this is indicative of people shifting from wanting to only get high on the products to a growing number of customers who are using it for sleep aids and other wellness activities.
Birch says he is excited to open the new Montavilla location and will look for ways to cross-promote with neighboring businesses. He also hopes neighbors will feel comfortable buying from the shop. He prides himself on having well-trained, uniformed staff that can educate a novice user or speak intelligently to a regular customer at any hour of operation. He also notes that the shop offers a product range that caters to a price point fitting many buyers. “We want people of any budget to come in, whether buying a $2 pre-roll or a $300 ounce,” said Birch. When the shop opens in the first quarter of 2026, it will operate from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Around 5:52 a.m. on July 11th, Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) received notice of an apartment fire at the Vandalay Arms Apartments. The 19-unit complex at 10405 E Burnside Street sits next to a recently completed multifamily building, prompting a significant four-alarm firefighter response to control the blaze and prevent its spread to other adjacent structures. Around 7 a.m., PF&R crews began to disband, reopening E Burnside Street to some transit and vehicle traffic that had been blocked by responding emergency service vehicles and firefighting apparatus. Most residents made it out of the building unharmed, but early reports say that PF&R rescued two people from the building who needed transport to a hospital for the treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The owners of the apartment building that burned in the early Friday morning fire were in the process of selling the 1997-era property, which had an asking price of $2,375,000. A significant number of units were damaged in the fire, resulting in the displacement of residents. Fire officials stated that one of the two buildings on the property is likely a complete loss. KGW reports that officials have detained one person as part of the investigation into the fire.
TriMet halted MAX Blue line service and rerouted some buses temporarily near 102nd Avenue due to road closures. Drivers needed to find detours around the area where firefighters were responding. However, the quick response of PF&R crews quickly extinguished the fire, and most of the roadway has reopened for the morning commute. The residents of Vandalay Arms Apartments, many of whom will need to find new housing, face numerous challenges ahead as they deal with the aftermath of this fire.
On July 8th, Adventist Health Portland hosted its first weekly produce stand popup of the summer at the healthcare organization’s 10123 SE Market Street complex. The community farm stand will open to the public on Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. through October 28th. The food primarily comes from gardens operated by the project partner, Outgrowing Hunger.
The 2025 produce stand season is the second year Adventist Health Portland has facilitated the sale of fresh foods on its campus. The stand operates outside Adventist Health Portland’s main hospital entrance under some trees lining the driveway, attracting hospital staff and visitors to the shaded display of fruits, vegetables, and honey. Vendors collect most of the items for sale the same day, and Adventist Health representatives explain that the farmers keep all proceeds from the stand.
The medical provider representative noted that sourcing fresh and healthy food in the area is difficult, with few grocery stores within walking distance of the community surrounding the hospital. In 2019, Adventist Health Portland and Outgrowing Hunger collaborated to create a community garden adjacent to the hospital. This new resource helps the Outgrowing Hunger member farmers grow food for their families. Many program participants are immigrants who use the garden space to grow produce familiar to their upbringing, along with crops traditionally well-suited to the Pacific Northwest.
Adventist Health Portland invites anyone interested in fresh produce to shop at the stand on Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. until it wraps up for the season in October. They accept cash and credit cards at the stand and offer a variety of locally produced fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other items from local farmers.
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The operators of a Wendy’s restaurant at 232 NE 82nd Avenue have recently closed the location’s dining room for renovations, while maintaining drive-through access for customers. Upgrades underway include modifications of interior walls along with the installation of new equipment and fixtures. Exterior work involves rearranging this location’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) parking spaces, adding bike parking, and installing new exterior lighting mounted on poles.
Signs of construction are apparent as crews have removed one front window from the building and covered it with plywood. Guests on foot are greeted with a typewritten note on the restaurant’s door from Wendy’s management, stating that the dining room is closed for renovations. The sign provides no reopening date, but the work detailed in building permits is substantial, and it will likely take months to complete. Wendy’s placed a portable restroom trailer in the parking lot for staff to use during the interior renovations that will impact the location’s bathroom access.
Typewritten note on the restaurant’s door from Wendy’s management that the dinning[sic] room is closed for renovations
This 1981-era dine-in and drive-through building features the brand’s classic stylings and has outgrown its current configuration. Previous remodels included the creation of an exterior detached cooler that crews demolished as part of this round of enhancements. Building permits list the planned addition of an attached cold food storage room to accommodate future kitchen capacity and replace the old detached unit. Electricians will replace lights in the dining area and soffit, in addition to installing a new menu board. Plumbers intend to relocate two toilets and one hand sink as part of the interior reconfiguration.
The Wendy’s fast food chain did not respond to requests for details regarding this remodel. However, the company has recently embraced its Global Next Gen design strategy for new and refreshed stores. This concept prioritizes higher order volume with streamlined buildings supporting increased digital orders and delivery customers. The square-patty burger maker says their modern restaurants can significantly upscale production compared to previous designs, increasing kitchen output capacity by nearly 50%. However, it is not certain that this location will embrace the new store design and may retain its classic appearance, with most renovation efforts focused on the interior and some parking lot reconfiguration.
Image from 82nd Avenue Glisan and Davis May 2024 Draft Design. Courtesy PBOT
Work at this location will complement the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s plans to widen the sidewalk in front of this restaurant to 12 feet, adding room for possible street trees or a planting strip in the furnishing zone between the curb and sidewalk. The pedestrian zone widening is part of the 82nd Avenue Glisan and Davis Signal Improvements project developed in 2024, with an expected groundbreaking in 2025.
Wendy’s south parking lot show with a trash dumpster and construction storage shipping containers
Visitors to the Wendy’s restaurant on NE 82nd Avenue should anticipate using the drive-through window during much of the ongoing construction and exercise caution when traversing the south parking lot, which serves as a staging area for construction storage and equipment.
Update July 19, 2025: As crews peel away the layers of parapet cladding for the Wendy’s restaurant, passersby can see the outlines of the chain’s past branding designs. In the 1980s, the old-fashioned hamburger company decorated the top band of its buildings with diagonally aligned siding with raised rectangular trim featuring scooped corners. Later updates featured the base painted bright yellow and the raised detail in red. Contemporary stores use flat and box-ribbed metal panels in dark colors to decorate the top section of the restaurants.
Update August 23, 2025: Crews installed the new front parapet cladding and modern sign. Visitors can now see the old mansard roof style next to the contemporary design.
Over 200 feet of SE Mill Street east of SE 82nd Avenue will remain closed to cars during the work week starting Monday, July 7th, allowing road workers to begin street repaving. Earlier this year, crews working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) constructed new sidewalks on SE Mill Street in this area, which previously lacked curbs and a dedicated pedestrian walkway. This project added wide sidewalks on both sides of the street, featuring tree wells for future street tree planting, creating a safer segment for the bike greenway, and a safe route to school path that runs along this street. Drivers should detour to Harrison Street until SE Mill Street reopens on Friday, July 11th.
Degraded asphalt between new sidewalks ready for grinding and repaving
Much of SE Mill Street east of this site, up to 89th Avenue, still lacks curbs and sidewalks but features mature trees lining the somewhat degraded asphalt road surface. A future extension of sidewalks along this street would require extensive stormwater engineering. It could also necessitate substantial land dedication from adjacent property owners to accommodate sidewalks on the building side of the tree line. Alternatively, engineers could narrow the street to fit sidewalks between the curb and trees, but that could create challenges for opposing traffic to pass while supporting safe passage for cyclists using this Neighborhood Greenway.
SE Mill St east of the worksite lacks curbs and sidewalks up to 89th Avenue
Paving of SE Mill east of 82nd Avenue requires a full road closure; however, pedestrians and people riding bicycles can use the new sidewalks during construction to pass through the worksite. This reworking of a relatively small section of roadway will significantly transform the street from its previous form and serve as an extension of community investments made during the SE 80th and Mill Local Improvement District. After this road reopens, paving work will continue in this area on SE 82nd Avenue between SE Mill and Harrison Streets, Starting July 14th.
Recently completed SE Mill Street’s north sidewalk open for pedestrians and cyclists during construction
Update July 7, 2025: As of Monday, crews have closed the sidewalks on both sides of SE Mill Street, in addition to the roadway. People should detour to Harrison Street, and the sidewalks may reopen to pedestrians and bicyclists later in the project timeline. The contractors working on the project have removed the old asphalt surface and are regrading the roadway with a new gravel base.
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