Gracelyn Commons – Montavilla News

After two years of development, three properties are for sale in Gracelyn Commons. These detached condominiums offer high-end design with a view of Portland. Once sold, work will continue on the remaining twelve residences planned for this project. The unbuilt houses are available for advanced sale, allowing for customized finishes.

Gracelyn Commons is the new name for the project previously referred to as 9000 Hoyt Street during construction. The three completed buildings comprise phase one of the complex. The developer, Todd Spencer, outlined the phased development in an August interview. A COVID-19 related backlog slowed the formation of a Home Owners Association (HOA) for this development, pushing back the listing dates for the three houses until now. Based on interest in the existing homes, Spencer could begin work on all the other structures immediately.

*9023 NE Hoyt Street living room and balcony. Image courtesy Todd Spencer.*

Crews constructed houses at the front of the developments first, preventing new homeowners from navigating an active worksite. However, with an accelerated building schedule on the other structures, Spencer explained that most disruptive construction could complete before families move in. “Most houses take two months to close. We could have the building envelope of a lot of the houses done while the closing is going on. So there would not be a lot of construction noise.”

*Three completed homes. Image courtesy Todd Spencer.*

Within the complex, builders use one of a few different floorplans for constructing the homes. Located at the front of the property, the most compact building on the site has its door leading to NE Hoyt Street. Unlike the other houses, it features only two bedrooms but gains a first-floor bonus room that would work well as a media room or home office. The other residences have three bedrooms and four bathrooms. In those homes, each bedroom has its own attached bathroom. Four of the unbuilt homes are planned as common-wall units, split between two structures. The other houses are freestanding single-family homes.

All houses have an attached single-car garage with an EV Charger hookup prewired. The developer will negotiate the installation of a specific charger based on the buyer’s needs. Every level of each home features nine-foot-tall ceilings. The extra horizontal foot makes the rooms feel spacious and open. Temperature control in the homes comes from Mini Split ductless systems placed throughout the house. They provide cost-effective and environmentally friendly comfort. For added energy efficiency and superior weather protection, a Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) roofing membrane covers the rooftops.

*9015 NE Hoyt Street bathroom. Image courtesy Todd Spencer*

9015 NE Hoyt Street is the most affordable unit for sale in the development. It is also one of a kind, with no other unit like it at the site. It’s ideal for a small family or a couple who work from home. Having just two bedrooms and 1,051 Square-feet of living space, builders used several space savings techniques to make a highly functional home. The laundry closet accommodates a stackable washer and dryer. Showers and bedrooms are slightly smaller than the other floorplans. However, it still contains most of the high-end finishes utilized in the other buildings. The master bathroom features a standard showerhead with an additional rain-showerhead seen in the other attached bathrooms throughout the development. Tiled shower walls extend past the glass doors to cover the entire wall. A gas range with a microwave vent hood joins a stainless-steel dishwasher in the modern styled kitchen.

*9017 NE Hoyt Street Kitchen. Image courtesy Todd Spencer.*

9017 NE Hoyt Street and 9023 NE Hoyt Street both share similar layouts. However, the kitchen arrangement and cabinets are the most distinct difference between the two buildings. 9017 incorporates an island and dark woodgrain cabinetry. 9023 uses glossy white cabinets, and instead of an island, a countertop peninsula provides separation from the living room. Off of the living rooms are inset balconies that feature natural gas hookups for grills or outdoor heaters. Ten-foot wide sliding glass walls provide entrance to the outdoor living space, and storage rooms off the side provide offseason storage for deck items. At 1,404 square feet, they have room for side-by-side laundry closets on the top floor and communal closets on each of the three levels.

*9023 NE Hoyt Street Kitchen. Image courtesy Todd Spencer.*

The quality of these detached condominiums is unique for the area. Montavilla has similar developments with private access roads and a handful of buildings crafted in a modern design style. However, no other location in the neighborhood features the same combination of scenic views and high-end finishes. This location may suit the needs of people moving out of downtown but still wanting to live in the city. It is located close to mass transit and has easy freeway access, making it convenient for commuters. Look for new construction to begin again when the completed houses sell.

*9017 NE Hoyt Street Master Suite. Image courtesy Todd Spencer.*

To schedule a tour of the houses, contact Nancy Westermeijer by email at nancywestrealtor@gmail.com or phone at 503-689-7056. The properties are available now and viewable within a few hours of the request.

The new owners of a single-story duplex on NE Hoyt Street submitted a permit application to demolish the building. Located at 9022-9032 NE Hoyt Street, the multi-family structure occupies a 9,500 square-foot lot capable of accommodating four houses or another multi-family development. Permit approval is on a mandatory 35-day demo hold.

Demolition permit 20-223098 seeks to raze the building and cap the sewer line. The 1959 era duplex is built without a basement, simplifying the demolition. A decommissioned septic system will need to be removed or otherwise addressed by this work permit.

Provision Group bought this property in September of 2020, and it represents the third Montavilla based project by the developer. Their other sites are both infill housing on fully developed streets. However, this Hoyt Street property sits across from another sizable housing development currently under construction.

The recently renamed Gracelyn Commons subdivision completed its first phase last year. Development work for that project cleared overgrown trees and improved the gravel road with a modern street. When completed, the subdivision will support a total of 15 new homes.

Until recently, this dead-end section of NE Hoyt Street went mostly overlooked and underdeveloped. Being position atop a bluff provides these new homes clear views of Portland’s streetscape, making multi-story homes here more valuable. This area of Montavilla is likely to see continued change with more properties redeveloped to offer higher quality housing and greater density.