Tag: 7123 NE Glisan

Construction, New Residence

Work Begins on Seven NE Glisan Townhomes

This November, crews will lay the foundation and begin framing a seven-unit townhouse project at NE Glisan Street and 72nd Avenue. This three-story building replaces a single-family home at 7132 NE Glisan Street, which workers demolished in the summer of 2022. Crews broke ground nearly a year after DEZ Development started the permitting process on this middle housing development, with construction expected to extend well into 2025.

Rendered view of the seven townhomes seen from NE 72nd Avenue. Courtesy DEZ Development

In late October, heavy equipment cleared and leveled the 4,097 square-foot parcel. The property’s Commercial Mixed Use 2 zoning allows structures up to four stories tall, similar to the affordable housing project under construction three blocks east of this site. This new housing project is in line with zoning goals for this area with minimum density requirements of one unit per 1,450 square feet of site area. That places it slightly above the minimum for NE Glisan’s prescribed density while still being built as a step up from the primarily two-story scale of surrounding buildings. Two units will face NE Glisan Street, with the remaining five having addresses on NE 72nd Avenue.

Each home will provide between 1,000 and 1,300 square feet of living space, split between three levels. Residents with vehicles will need to park in curbside spaces on NE 72nd Avenue or NE Glisan Street. The building is near the 60th Avenue MAX light-rail stop and on the TriMet 19 bus line. Bike commuters living here will have easy access to an established Portland Greenway that runs east-west on NE Davis Street. Housing density along commercial corridors like NE Glisan can create a symbiotic relationship between residents and businesses located within walking distance of the residences. This location is within blocks of the Fred Meyer grocery store at 6615 NE Glisan Street and has several dining options at restaurants, coffee shops, and bars within eyesight of the townhomes. When residents look for more resources close to homes near commercially zoned areas, more businesses tend to open to meet increased demand. Walking-oriented housing on NE Glisan may become the catalyst for reviving the once-thriving area first established when the streetcar tracks ran down its center.

Construction at this site will continue over the next several months, with completion expected in 2025.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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Business Closing, History

Spencers Appliances Closing after 4 Decades

Spencer’s Appliances at 7115 NE Glisan Street will permanently close its doors on February 1st after forty years of serving the community. The new and used appliance store’s owner plans to retire, renting out the three commercial buildings on NE Glisan Street to the next generation of businesses. Several employees have formed a new company and will open their appliance repair store later in the year.

Eugene Spencer started Spencer’s Appliances with his son in the early1980s after retiring from the military as a refrigeration specialist. “I started with my father, Eugene, in 82. He was doing stuff out of his house because he retired from the Navy, and he just started tinkering around keeping himself busy,” remembered John Spencer. “I was working at a seed mill in Tangent, OR. I went to college for a couple of years, and college wasn’t for me. Then my dad called me and said you want a job? Come up here and work for me.”

Ben Schafer, the owner of Cash and Carry Appliances on NE Glisan, wanted to relocate his 30-year-old business to SE Hawthorne, allowing the Spencers to set up shop in an established location. “There was a pre-existing appliance business here, and the guy wanted to move to a bigger building. So we bought this building,” explained John Spencer. “This was a good location, and we had people walk in the first day and buy an appliance from us because it was an appliance business before.”

That early success gave the Spencers confidence, particularly John, who at 21 was new to the business. “I still remember going, ‘Holy crap,’ there’s people in here buying stuff. I didn’t know anything, and then we started fixing appliances and selling them. We eventually got a GE dealership. It just took off from there.” Said John Spencer. After growing the business together, the father and son team added an employee. “It just slowly but surely got busier and busier, and then we hired Wes.” Wes Swisher had also retired from the Navy and knew Eugene Spencer. According to John Spencer, Wes was instrumental in the growth of Spencer’s Appliances. The business continued to expand year after year, eventually employing 20 people.

By 1984, the appliance shop outgrew the original storefront at 7123 NE Glisan, so they constructed the current showroom next door. In 2000, the company completed a new warehouse building at the corner of NE 71st Avenue and Glisan Street. Both newer buildings support apartments on a second floor above the commercial space, creating six units. The Spencers eventually bought the land one block east, building the Glisan Plaza at 7201 NE Glisan Street.

Twenty years ago, Eugene Spencer stepped away from the appliance business, leaving John in charge. “He was a great boss. We worked six days a week for 20 years, and then he retired,” recalls John Spencer. In 2012, Wes Swisher also retired. Both are healthy and enjoying their time away from work. Around the time Swisher left, John Spencer became concerned about Glisan Street. Car thieves have repeatedly stolen his service vehicles, and miscreants often vandalized the buildings. In 2019, a driver collided with his store and fled the scene. John Spencer enjoys the new families that have moved to the neighborhood and the business taking root around his shop but seeing the negative shift along his street is disappointing. “I think it is the worst I’ve seen it, the crime that you see walking up and down the street.” Said, Spencer. The shift in public safety and labor issue stemming from the pandemic have encouraged John Spencer to retire from the business. After searching for a buyer interested in running the store for seven months, he and his family decided it was better to shut down the company.

John Spencer will miss the daily interactions that have made his career enjoyable. “It’s all about the people. I just like meeting neighbors and talking to people. It was my social time. You go into people’s homes and learn things from their experiences in life. 90% of the people you deal with are just beautiful, down-to-earth people.” Spencer will also miss solving problems for customers. He takes pride in fixing someones vexing appliance problem and seeing the relief it gives people.

John Spencer is happy with the company his family built in Montavilla and the impact they have made on the lives of those who worked there. “It kept my family fed, and I think I’ve created a lot of jobs. I’ve got ex-employees that still do appliance stuff. There’s people that have found a career because they walked in the door one day looking for a job,” explained Spencer. “It’s been a wild ride.”

By

Jacob Loeb

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