Tag: SE 80th Ave

Community, Infrastructure

New Bike-Share Stations Arrive

BIKETOWN staff recently relocated the NE Glisan bike-share docking station two blocks to the west. Less than a year ago, crews installed the dock on the south side of the roadway near NE 80th Avenue. That same docking station is now on the north side of the street near NE 78th Avenue. Its new location is near a marked crosswalk with a rapid flashing beacon. Placement close to that intersections should make the parked bikes easier to access from any side of NE Glisan.

This article originally published September 4th, 2021.

Yesterday, crews from BIKETOWN installed new bike-share stations on SE 81st Ave just south of E Burnside Street. Its construction follows another recently built unit on NE Glisan Street west of 80th Ave. When completed, the 81st Ave location will house docks for up to six e-bikes available to rent through the BIKETOWN mobile app.

Last June, a survey conducted by BIKETOWN gathered community input on where to place new electric bicycle (e-bike) docks as part of the program’s East Portland expansion. A few months later, that survey data and other factors are guiding the placement of these stations. The BIKETOWN bike finder map currently shows the new station on SE 81st Ave as available for use. However, no bikes are listed there, and the stand is missing the vertical sign that displays user instructions. This bike-share location is near Walgreens Pharmacy on the road behind Hong Phat. The station’s proximity to the number 20 and 72 TriMet bus lines should reduce excessive walking for riders not directly on the bus route.

Station on NE Glisan Street showing user instructions.

Several blocks north from the uncompleted station, BIKETOWN staff finished an identical installation on NE Glisan Street. Crews completed this location last week, and it is fully operational. Workers placed the docks on the sidewalk in front of Glisan Dental, away from traffic. The SE 81st Ave docks sit in the road’s parking lane, relying on white traffic delineator posts to protect the parked bikes.

Station on NE Glisan Street.

BIKETOWN docking stations are simple installations that securely hold locked bikes. They do not provide any charging for e-bikes. Instead, BIKETOWN offers these locations as a reliable place for customers to find and return bikes. Throughout the week, staff redistributes bikes to these locations after collecting units left in remote areas. Each e-bike has a removable battery pack that employees can replace before putting them back out for use.

BIKETOWN van used for redistribution.

Since the expansion of the BIKETOWN network in late 2020, sightings of the iconic orange bikes throughout Montavilla and greater East Portland have increased. Often they are found secured to signposts and fences. The installation of more bike docking stations will transform the scattering of transportation options into a reliable network of mobility devices. Their new consistent location gives residents the confidence to bridge the transportation gap for short trips without a personal vehicle. Businesses near the docks should also see a boost in visitors, as patrons can expect to find a bike ready for them when they head home. Look for these docks next time you plan a short trip around Montavilla and see if an e-bike can enhance your mobility.

Station on SE 81st Ave partially completed.

Correction – fixed typo of store name Hong Phat

Bar, Food and Drink, New Business

Rabbit Hole Sweetshop

Last month, Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets quietly opened in Montavilla town at 414 SE 80th Ave. The shop occupies the former Hungry Heart Bakery space, made available after the restaurant relocated to SE Stark Street. Both businesses are the creation of Jax Hart, and the two locations work together to meet the varied appetites of customers throughout the day.

Hart quietly reopened the SE 80th shopfront on April 15th. Although covered in Bridgetown Bites, the opening was unpublicized, allowing staff time to work out the kinks in the shop’s operation and perfect the menu options. The first few weeks primarily focused on mastering the soft-serve ice cream machines that require an expert’s hand to operate. Rabbit Hole is now ready for customers but will continue to add products and features to the shop over the coming months.

Rabbit Hole staff are preparing for an expected busy summer season with more people out in the neighborhood looking for treats. “We’re [open] Thursday through Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and that’ll probably extend as we get into summer and see what time people are looking for the ice cream and sweets.” Said Hart. The two shops have a short overlap in operating hours but essentially split the day. Hungry Heart operates from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., serving the morning and lunchtime crowd. Rabbit Hole’s hours catch the afternoon and evening dessert seekers. That schedule allows Hart to balance their attention between the two establishments. “I kind of just go where I’m needed,” explained Hart.

The second location is more than a way to expand operations. Hart wants the Rabbit Hole to offer a different customer experience than the busy restaurant on Stark Street. Reopening in the original location is a way to reconnect with the roots of the business. “When we started, the intention was to just be a small neighborhood dessert shop and be a little bit more slower paced and low key. So our hope for this space was to have a little bit more time to engage with people,” said Hart. “It’s really been nice to welcome people into this space again.”

Hart moved the customer-pleasing Hungry Heart cupcakes and the macarons to the Rabbit Hole location. Over time, they expect to expand the confectionary options. However, Hart knew that the cold treats needed to be part of the new shop from day one. “We’re also doing soft serve ice cream because we had previously done Heartbreaker [ice cream shop], and people loved having ice cream in the neighborhood.”

Rabbit Hole features two soft serve machines, one of which is a dedicated non-dairy use. “So currently that machine has Oatly vegan vanilla and dole whip, which is a pineapple soft-serve,” explained Hart. As they settle in, Rabbit Hole staff will rotate flavors and begin to offer dipped cones with various toppings and sundaes.

Beyond Rabbit Hole’s display cases, staff have stocked shelves with a collection of packaged food items, books, and plants. Hart is working with suppliers from the area to provide a variety of market items to compliment the sweet shop. Hart explains that many people stopping in are picking up supplies for a celebration. “When people come in for cupcakes, it’s for a party, it’s for a gift, or it’s for a friend who just graduated.” The plants and other gift-able items make the shop a one-stop location for those looking to arrive at a party prepared. Soon the store will stock cards from local letterpress companies to complete the present giving collection that Rabbit Hole provides.

Hart expects to enhance the shop’s offerings beyond its products and menu. The indoor seating area will soon support a flexible teaching space for vendors who want to offer cooking classes. “We’ll be able to do these small, intimate neighborhood cooking classes and kids cooking classes.” Hart also explained the shop would soon gain outdoor seating. “We have an application in for a Healthy Business permit, which would be one of those seating areas that take up a parking spot, so we’re going to wait and see if we can either get a 20 foot or a 40 foot [space].”

Recently, staff have focused on setting the right environment for the shop and opening the doors to customers. After they complete the physical storefront, Hart said they will next work to open the website to the public. “We’ll have the menus on the website, and we’ll have an ordering page. [People can] order cupcakes online, and we’ll have an online store for all of the Market items.”

Christening the new location Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets is part of a larger project that began years ago but put on hold by the pandemic. Jax Hart revealed that the Stark street location would eventually change names in alignment with the original intention for the space. “We’re working on rebranding Hungry Heart to White Rabbit,” said Hart. However, they don’t expect to make that change soon, as the cost is not insignificant. Regardless of the timing, the relationship between the two shops will be unmistakable when they complete the rebranding process.

The public is encouraged to pop in and see what sweets or plants Rabbit Hole offers. Look for new items and events later this year and know that a cool sweet treat is just down the street on the coming warm days of summer.


Business Relocating, Property Lease

Toast Moves out of Montavilla

After nearly a decade in the neighborhood, Toast Inc. has relocated from its shop on SE 80th Avenue to a new purpose-built facility at NE 42nd and Killingsworth Street. The manufacturer of laser cut wood and leather products expanded operations over the years to encompass an extensive collection of device covers, offering personalized designs and promotional items. The former workshop at 403 SE 80th Avenue is now vacant, awaiting its next tenant.

Moving to the new location enables Toast to grow its business and make space for other similarly creative people to work on their craft. “We got the opportunity to build a new building to our specific needs that would also have additional maker-artist spaces to lease out,” said Toast Founder Matias Brecher. The second floor of the new two-story commercial building offers leasable workspaces while Toast works out of the main floor. Tenants have rented all but one of the artist studio rooms, firmly establishing Brecher’s vision of a creative community building. 

Toast launched in January 2012 as a Kickstarter project with 300 backers. Crowdsourced funds facilitated the initial purchase of a CNC laser and materials that Brecher developed into Toast. Initially, the company produced walnut iPhone 4 covers in a basement workshop but soon hired staff and relocated to the Montavilla workspace. Now, growing further, Toast is making its new home in the Cully neighborhood.

The move is biter-sweet for the business. “We miss the restaurants and bars and the Academy theater for sure, but we are excited to be part of growing the 42nd Ave community,” explained Brecher. Montavilla has incubated many independent manufacturing operations dating back to its earliest days. Toast is another example of the quiet success seen in the workspaces around the neighborhood. Look for the shopfront on SE 80th Avenue to become available soon, and visit Toast at 4232 NE Killingsworth Street if you are in the area.

Community, Infrastructure

First in Wave of Public Trash Cans

Late last week, Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) installed the first in a wave of many new public trash cans coming to Montavilla. Crews will place cans on public sidewalks near businesses, schools, and intersections. Contracted trash collectors, paid by the City, will empty the new waste receptacles twice a week.

In 2016, the Portland City Council authorized an expansion of the public trash program through a tax on the solid waste commercial tonnage fee. By June 2017, Portland’s Jade District received new waste receptacles as part of a pilot program. In 2020, East Portland neighborhoods began receiving new trash cans. By 2023 the City will have added over 700 new public trash cans throughout Portland.

Located on the southeast corner of SE 80th Avenue and Stark Street, this newest colorful trash can features a bottle and can sidecar. People are encouraged to place recyclable items in the side compartment instead of the trash ports, making it accessible for deposit collectors to recover the discarded drink containers. Waste can placement was partially determined by a survey conducted by BPS in April. In total, the City will add 182 new public trash cans throughout Southeast Portland. Next year, the same process will repeat for Northeast Portland. BPS is currently running a Public Trash Can placement survey for the next round of clan placement. Public comment will remain open through January 2022, with trash can deployment in Spring.

Map courtesy of BPS

Public trash cans will not solve all the City’s litter problems. However, a substantial portion of trash collects near bus stops and other gathering places that may soon have a trash receptacle to discard those items. This rollout is an encouraging move forward in Portland’s effort to provide sanitation services to its residents. Look for more trash cans coming to local streets over the next few months and help shape future placement by participating in the NE Portland Survey.

Infrastructure

Damaged Hydrant Repaired on SE 80th

Shiny new bolts now secure the fire hydrant to its lower standpipe at SE 80th Ave and E Burnside Street. It had been damaged in a vehicle collision a week ago, rendering it inoperable. Residents reported the damage in the early hours of September 24th. Broken parts of the vehicle were still on the road and sidewalk. By noon, City of Portland Water Bureau staff moved the dislodged fire hydrant back to its curbside pad and placed a traffic barricade over the open pipe.

Fortunately, this vehicular collision did not cause a fountain of water. Portland uses dry barrel hydrants designed to separate upon impact without releasing water. The hydrant’s collar will slip off the lower standpipe with lateral pressure, and the internal operating stem features a breakable coupling. That design prevents damage to the water valve that is located underground. 

This fire hydrant is operational again with only minor repairs. Likely, the vehicle that impacted it will require significantly more work.

Post collision damage Friday September 24th, 2021
Construction, New Residence

12-Unit Apartment on SE 80th

According to documents filed with the city last week, the owners of 235 SE 80th Ave intend to construct an apartment building on the property. The proposed development would replace the one-story residence with a twelve-unit apartment building. In addition, the complex would include seven onsite parking spaces for residents.

The California company, Eleay Properties, bought the 1949 era house in June of 2019. It’s currently a rental property and occupied by tenants. The site sits across SE 80th Ave from Montavilla United Methodist Church and next door to The Barn apartments. Several other apartment buildings are in the area, and this property is one block from Montavilla Town, making it an attractive place for housing density.

Developers of the project submitted Early Assistance 21-059086 seeking advice for the project from City staff. The process takes place ahead of submitting design proposals and plans for review. This portion of the process is one of the earliest stages and may not result in an actual project. If moving forward, the beginning of construction would be over a year away.

Apartment projects around Montavilla Town are becoming more common. Due to its strong commerce and cultural center, this neighborhood will attract projects that prioritize density within a hyperlocal community. A move away from single-family housing can cause concern for some residents. However, this apartment could create an appropriately sized multi-family building that provides enough parking to avoid overburdening the neighborhood. Look for more details about this project to surface over the coming year.

Community, Construction, Infrastructure

New Greenway Survey

Dubbed the 70s Greenway, Portland’s newest bicycle and pedestrian path will run through Montavilla. Before finalizing plans, PBOT needs input from residents to help shape the project’s design. The Greenway will travel parallel to 82nd Ave, but contrary to its name, for the vast majority of its path through Montavilla will run on 80th Avenue.

PBOT’s survey regarding the 70s Greenway design is open to surrounding residents and people who travel through the area. Portland Neighborhood Greenways prioritize human-powered transportation. Adjustments to roads accommodate safe bicycle traffic, consistent sidewalks encourage walking, and improved ramps accommodate everyone. Intersections along the path often receive new signaling and road markings to support stress-free crossing.

Halsey locations for intersection adjustments. Image courtesy of PBOT

Thanks to improvements made on SE 80th this summer, some new segments of the 70’s Greenway already exist. Future Montavilla upgrades from this project will center around the safe crossing of busy streets and significant adjustments to NE Halsey Street.

Proposed Halsey configuration . Image courtesy of PBOT

NE Halsey Street could lose a car lane in each direction. In the Proposal, a protected bike lane on each side of the road will replace those removed lanes. Additionally, a center turn lane will run down the middle of the roadway. The intersection at 68th Ave receives improved bike and pedestrian crossings. A small roundabout at NE 80th Ave will help deal with a notoriously confusing intersection right before the NE Halsey Street Bridge over I84.

Intersection at 68th Ave. Image courtesy of PBOT
Roundabout at 80th Ave. Image courtesy of PBOT

The proposed project’s full scope is viewable at PBOT’s website and BikePortland’s article about these projects. Participation in the survey will help PBOT make informed choices to improve the bike and pedestrian access within our neighborhood while keeping it functional for everyone else.

Construction

Church Parking Lot Upgrade

Enhancements to SE 80th Ave’s paving and sidewalks have encouraged improvements to private property along that road. The Slavic Church Emmanuel has undergone an upgrade project to its parking lot, creating a new entrance onto SE 80th Ave. The new fence, gate, and lighting are nearing completion.

At the beginning of this year, SE 80th Ave received a complete overhaul from Bridger School to the Portland Community College’s southeast campus. For the first time on the section of the road sidewalks line the street. Additionally, a modern roadway now replaces the once deteriorated driving surface. Located at 2025 SE 82nd Ave, the church occupies a large lot that pushes back to SE 80th Ave. However, many drivers often avoided this section of the SE 80th due to its poor condition. Consequentially the church did not have access to the parking lot on that street.

Road construction cut into some of the church property on its western edge. Overgrown hedges and a small fence needed removal for the project, leaving the back parking lot exposed. The Slavic Church Emmanuel took the opportunity to install a black chainlink fence along the new roadway and created a curb cut leading to SE 80th Ave. Soon vehicles will have access to SE 80th Ave, in addition to the main entrance on SE 82nd Ave.

Beyond the parking lot’s border improvements, the asphalt parking surface has expanded. This weekend crews were at work spreading the oily rock several feet west. Now cars can drive right up to the back fence line. In perhaps the most useful upgrade, permit number 20-179802 will add “New parking lot lighting.”

These upgrades should make the parking lot safer and more accessible for members of the church. Additionally, this transformation to SE 80th Ave’s frontage will enhance the appearance of the street. The new parking lot light further illuminates the road, and the clean fence line makes the area look more active.

Bar, Event, Food and Drink

Montavilla Station Set to Reopen Friday – UPDATED

UPDATE – Due to Governor Kate Brown decision to pause reopening efforts, Montavilla Station announced they will not reopen as planned. The below message appeared on the bar’s FaceBook page.

“We are NOT able to open Friday June 12th. We MAY be able to open Friday June 19th. Stay tuned….“

  • Original Post from June 9th

Montavilla Station announced on their Facebook page, intentions to reopen this Friday. Opening is contingent on Multnomah county entering Phase 1 reopening. The below post appeared Monday evening:

“We are gearing up to REOPEN! IF Multnomah county is approved for Phase I reopening, we will re-open this Friday, 6/12 at 11:00 am. Things WILL be different, however as we need to adhere to state guidelines: Please do not come if you feel sick; table seating only (no bar seating); maximum of 10 people in a party seated together; maintain 6 feet distance from others not in your party at all times; wear a face mask when not seated at your table; no karaoke, pool tables, or live music; video poker machines will open with restrictions. Please be courteous and respectful to our employees and to other patrons and we can all stay safe! We look forward to seeing you all soon!“

Montavilla Station is a bar located at 417 SE 80th Ave.

Construction, Infrastructure

SE 80th Improvements Complete

A large road project on SE 80th Ave has completed after six months of work. Crews replaced the existing road down to its base and filled in missing sidewalks. The project encompassed SE 80th Ave from SE Grant Street to SE Market Street. Additionally SE Mill Street, from SE 80th Avenue to SE 82nd Ave, was included in the project.

Last year these Montavilla roads were in bad shape. Not only were there few sidewalks, but the roadway had deteriorated. Trees had grown so large that only one direction of traffic could pass at a time. The road edge was ambiguous, making it dangerous for all modes of transportation in the area. That alone would be cause for concern but these roads are directly next to Bridger School. Being next to a school creates an excessive amount of pedestrian and bike traffic in the area.

Instead of cutting down the trees that made this road difficult, crews built around them. This tactic has widened the road substantially but preserved the existing natural character of this area.

The repaving and sidewalk infill project has connected SE 80th Ave from the PCC Campus to Burnside. It is safe to walk bike and drive the entire stretch.  That was the goal of the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project and part of why such effort has been put towards SE 80th Ave.

Coverage of the construction phase of this project can be read in the Montavilla News article from February. Trips that had taken Montavilla residents along SE 82nd Ave, now can rely on SE 80th Ave as a safer alternative to busier streets.