Tag: Eastern Cathay

Construction, Infrastructure

NE Halsey Safety and Access Project

Construction crews will begin working on improvement projects along NE Halsey Street this summer. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will reshape the busy roadway from NE 69th to 92nd Avenues, reducing travel lanes to make room for bike infrastructure and creating nearly 1,500 feet of new sidewalk on the north side of the street between 85th and 92nd Avenues. Several enhanced pedestrian crossing points along the project path will increase safety, implementing a mini roundabout, flashing beacons, and high visibility crosswalk markings.

The summer 2024 work, currently in the planning phase, combines the efforts of the NE Halsey Street – Safety and Access to Transit Project with the 70s Neighborhood Greenway to improve conditions on the high-traffic street. Drivers will lose one travel lane in each direction between NE 68th and 81st Avenues but gain a center turn lane, aiding in safer left turns. Cyclists will receive bike lanes on both sides of NE Halsey Street from NE 68th 81st Avenues. Riders will transition onto two-way buffered bike lanes on the south side of NE Halsey Street between Jonesmore Street and 92nd Avenue.

Early PBOT lane reconfiguration cross section shows spacing. Note that the 5′ bike lanes are shown as 6′ wide in some more recent design documents

People trying to connect to NE Halsey Street from the NE 82nd Avenue MAX station will see improvements to the existing multiuse path between 81st and 82nd Avenues on the northern edge of Eastern Cathay‘s parking lot. Pedestrians crossing NE Halsey will gain new high-visibility crosswalks at NE 69th, 80th, and 84th Avenues. People crossing the faster-paced street at NE 88th Avenue can use the request button for Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB), signaling drivers to yield. In addition to the new sidewalks, crews working for PBOT will reconstruct curb ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many TriMet Line 77 bus stops along the project path will also see improvements.

2020 rendering of Intersection at 68th Ave. Image courtesy of PBOT

Funding for this project includes money for street lighting analysis with an option for additional lighting if needed. The Federal government provided $5,300,000 towards these enhancements. Developers paying Transportation System Development fees contributed $2,580,000 in funding. Because this project spans a Freeway overpass, the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Bridge Program supplied $412,120. Other Portland Bureau funding sources will provide the remaining project costs.

2020 rendering of mini roundabout at 80th Ave. Image courtesy of PBOT

Funds from the Greenway project will complete the construction of two pedestrian refuge islands and a small raised concrete median on NE Halsey Street. In September, cement masons finished reconstructing sidewalk corners and adding mid-block curb ramps for the 70s Greenway crossing at NE Halsey Street and 76th Avenue. PBOT paused that work last year until crews could remove the existing lane striping and repaint lines in a new configuration. Until that reconfiguration occurs, road crews cannot create the refuge island because it would block part of a travel lane.

Construction drawing of NE Halsey Street and 76th Ave, courtesy PBOT

Planning and funding for the NE Halsey Street improvements have taken years to come to fruition. Residents challenged by the current conditions on this dangerous roadway have advocated for this work for nearly a decade, and they should soon see the results of their work. Expect construction delays on NE Halsey Street this summer, but by the end of the year, people should begin to feel safer traveling through this section of Portland.

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Business Closing, History, Property Sale

Massive I84 and 82nd Ave Property for Sale

An acre of Commercial Mixed Use real estate at 1411 NE 82nd Avenue recently became available on Montavilla’s northern edge. The lot, adjacent to Interstate 84, is the current home to Eastern Cathay restaurant and is the former birthplace of the Elmer’s Pancake House franchise.

The listing agent, Adrian Chu of Specialty Real Estate Group, is positioning this property as a “developer’s dream.” The parcel sits at the intersection of a freeway, 82nd Avenue, NE Halsey, and the TriMet MAX Light Rail system. The site is underdeveloped, with only a single 4,500-square-foot restaurant building at its center, surrounded by more parking than guests could fill. If redeveloped, residents could quickly travel to any destination from this location with numerous transportation options, and retail on the ground floor would have access to hundreds of daily commuters.

Courtesy Danna brothers and Midcounty Memo

This site was born out of the I-84 expansion, having been leveled during the widening of Sullivan’s Gulch. The 1950’s era civil engineering project required the demolition of the McCarthy & Danna Food Center that had formerly occupied the land over the freeway where NE Halsey connected to NE 82nd Avenue. The store’s operator, Salvatore “Sam” G. Danna, intended to rebuild the grocery store on the remaining property not taken by the freeway project. However, a restaurateur suggested a different use for the vacant lot. In 1960, Danna constructed the first Elmer’s Colonial House of Pancakes restaurant on this site for Walt and Dorothy Elmer. Opening in 1961, this breakfast-focused restaurant began what would become a Northwest business empire spanning multiple states. However, this location closed after the customer base shifted to other areas.

Sanborn Map 1924 showing McCarthy & Danna Food Center location

In October 2008, Rong Liang Mei bought the property and restaurant. Having already started two successful restaurants, the new owner quickly converted this location to Eastern Cathay. The business is available as part of a sale or will shut down after the deal finalizes. At $3 million, this property may stay on the market for a while. However, its size and location make it a tempting acquisition for a developer or government buyer.

By

Jacob Loeb

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Community

Volunteers Clean Around JOIN

Today, 31 volunteers cleaned the blocks surrounding the houseless support organization JOIN PDX at 1435 NE 81st Ave. SOLVE Oregon coordinated the event and provided cleaning supplies. Crews focused their efforts on the neighboring parking lot for Eastern Cathay Restaurant and other nearby streets.

JOIN sponsored this event, with many staff from the host organization joining community members in cleanup efforts. The cleaning event kicked off at 10 AM and ran until 12:30 PM. During that time, volunteers filled dozens of trash bags with litter and gathered piles of discarded car parts. SOLVE-trained staff collected over fifty hypodermic needles and safely disposed of them.

SOLVE event coordinator Peter Brewer said that his organization appreciated the support from JOIN. He recognizes that this section of Portland suffers from intense litter and indicated that his group intends on returning to this location more frequently for future cleanups. Upcoming events will appear on SOLVE’s online calendar.

Images courtesy SOLVE Oregon.

Update: Volunteer count updated from 27 based on final counts from SOLVE.

Disclosure: The author of this article volunteered for this cleanup even.