Crews will soon begin work preparing the vacant lot at 8425 NE Hassalo Street for a quartet of new townhouses. The seller will offer the new homes under an affordability program that exempts buyers from paying reassessed property taxes for a decade, cutting their monthly escrow payments. The developer will use the Middle Housing Land Division (MHLD) process to split the parcel into four distinct lots for individual sale. The frontmost home’s door will open onto the street, with the back three accessed by a shared walkway along the western edge of the properties. The attached units will provide buyers with three bedrooms in around 1,200 square feet of living space spread across two floors.
Area developer Rees Bettinger purchased the 15,700-square-foot investment property at 8413 NE Hassalo Street in May, splitting its two linked lots. NW Development bought the undeveloped tract east of the existing house for this housing project. That company’s owner, Brett Barton, explained that he and Bettinger are longtime friends, working cooperatively when possible. Another developer purchased the corner lot and is using Cascade Homes NW to construct an additional four townhouses off NE 84th Avenue, as well as renovate the existing 1908-era two-story home that originally occupied the site. In the 1930s, a plumbing permit for the century-old property listed the “World War Veterans’ State Aid Commission” as the owner of this home, possibly indicating that a past resident was a World War I or Spanish-American War veteran who received the supportive organization’s loan to purchase the house. Although the house on NE Hassalo Street has used the adjacent property as a side yard for decades, the original platting of this block indicates that its subdividers intended the undeveloped 5,650-square-foot parcel to serve as a distinct property, and this current project is likely its first housing development.
The 50-by-114-foot lot offers considerable space for the new housing. Barton said his project will utilize the same architect who designed Rees Bettinger’s townhouses, located a block over on NE Holladay Street. However, with the increased property size, the NE Hassalo Street units will offer their owners a few extra feet in critical spaces, such as bathrooms. The main level’s open layout places the “L” shaped kitchen in the back corner near the rear sliding door that leads to a patio space on the east side of the homes. An outdoor storage closet, located near the back patio, provides space for seasonal outdoor furniture or other deck items. A kitchen island has space for counter seating from the living room side and helps define the kitchen space from the rest of the open main room. The northern walls support a pantry, a half-bath washroom, and an under-staircase storage area containing the water heater. The second floor features two standard-sized bedrooms, each with a shared bathroom located in the hallway near a stacked laundry closet. An “owner’s” third bedroom features an ensuite bathroom and a walk-in closet.
Barton said the new homes will also have more yard space, thanks to the deeper and wider lot. However, development plans will not allow for attached onsite vehicle storage. He explained that he registered the development in the “Homebuyer Opportunity Limited Tax Exemption” (HOLTE) program, which grants a property tax exemption of up to ten years to single-unit homes, as long as the property and owner remain eligible according to HOLTE Program requirements. Owners remain responsible for paying the original assessed value of the land without a building during the exemption period. This program only applies to housing with at least three bedrooms or some Two-bedroom homes within transit-oriented areas. Buyers must remain below the Median Family Income (MFI) restriction levels, and the home sale price for this program cannot exceed a maximum price currently set at $455,000. Barton intends to sell the houses for under $400,000 and expects the HOLTE option to make this obtainable for people qualified for loans in the $330,000 to $370,000 range.
New changes to Portland’s System Development Charges (SDCs) will also have a positive impact on this project. Barton said he would have needed to enroll in other affordability programs to reduce the fees the City charges builders to pay for new infrastructure. Those expenses can make some projects too costly. In July 2025, the Portland City Council adopted an ordinance that temporarily exempts newly created housing units from SDCs. With that change, Barton said prospective buyers will face fewer restrictions when qualifying for these affordable units. For other market-rate projects, it could keep costs within the profit margins needed to undertake a development.
City staff are still reviewing permits for the new housing. When construction crews complete work on these concurrent developments, the land that once supported a single home will now contain at least nine residences. People can expect significant progress on this project in 2026.
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.
