Tag: Thogerson Designs

Construction, Infrastructure

Expanded Sidewalks on NE 72nd and Burnside

Update: Last week, crews poured new concrete sidewalks and curbs along E Burnside Street and NE 72nd Avenue. This walkway expansion work was required due to a recent lot division and the construction of a new single-family residence at 7171 E Burnside Street. Cement masons also reconstructed an existing curb cut on NE 72nd Avenue that now leads to the new home’s driveway. Workers will soon take down the construction barricades surrounding the two lots.

E Burnside Street looking west
NE 72nd Ave looking north

Article originally published on October 25th

Sidewalk reconstruction work is currently underway along E Burnside Street and NE 72nd Avenue. A recent lot division, and subsequent construction of the new single-family residence at 7171 E Burnside Street, triggered the pedestrian zone upgrades. Workers will completely replace the sidewalk and expand curbside planter strips. Landscapers will plant five River Birch street trees in the curb strip with some additional sidewalk adjacent plantings on the private property.

Sidewalk Illustration over plan-set by Thogerson Designs

As a condition of the redevelopment, both lots relinquished an additional four feet from the original property line. This land dedication to the City of Portland was necessary for an expanded public right-of-way that now meets current design standards. As a corner lot, the original 1900-era home at 7 NE 72nd Avenue forfeited more property when accommodating the new sidewalk and planting strip than the newly completed home. However, the century-old 880-square-foot building still sits comfortably back from the street and has an adequate yard.

When completed, this once-narrow walkway along a busy street will feel more comfortable for pedestrians. That extra space only extends for half the block, and it will take further redevelopment along E Burnside Street before whole segments of the pedestrian zone are rebuilt to modern standards.

Construction, New Residence

Dormant Housing Project Awakening on NE 76th

Over a year ago, Wilde Properties proposed building a single-family home at 1320 NE 76th Avenue next door to their identical project at 1328 NE 76th Avenue. The permit application in November of 2020 proceeded the purchase of the 25-foot wide lot by nearly a year. Construction crews are busy at the site, having just completed the foundation work, and are now moving onto the framing.

Both architected by Thogerson Designs, this new home follows the same floor-plan as its neighbor to the north. It is also a duplicate of another development at 8014 SE Madison Street that used identical Thogerson Designs blueprints. However, this house currently under construction will utilize a gabled roof instead of the hipped roof with a craftsman dormer seen in the other two versions of the home. The dormer struggles to fit the scale of the 15 feet wide buildings, and its removal may be an aesthetically pleasing choice.

The real estate listing for 1328 NE 76th Avenue is available online for viewing and contains some insightful images. As both share the same interior design and developer, there will likely be many similarities between the two projects. Previous articles have covered the intelligent use of limited space in this floor plan, making its replication a fitting choice on skinny lots.

In this case, the home itself is less remarkable compared to the timing of its construction. The delayed purchase seemed to indicate a lower confidence level in the project’s success. Housing prices have remained high during the pandemic. However, new construction dipped significantly due to labor shortages, material costs, and developer hesitation. Building on this project could indicate that economic uncertainty is subsiding within the developer community. Wilde Properties specializes in infill home construction and knows how to succeed in the housing market. If they have faith to build at this time, it should signal safety to other developers. If enough dormant projects began construction, Summer 2022 could see a return to development levels not witnessed since 2019.

Construction, New Residence

Another Duplicate House

UPDATED – Construction progress pictures added. Article originally posted October 21st, 2020.

The new three-level house, located at 285 SE 90th Ave, is an exact duplicate of one at 1430 NE 72nd Ave. That house is also under construction with a similar completion date. Scot Harger owns both Properties, and Thogerson Designs created the blueprints for the homes.

These twin homes are the second set currently under construction in Montavilla. Many home buyers expect originality in architecture found in Portland’s older neighborhoods. However, reused blueprints are not uncommon in the region. This practice started over a hundred years ago with house kits from Sears Modern Homes. These identical structures are just the modern version of a long-standing tradition, saving costs by reusing construction documents. With these houses spread across the neighborhood, it will be difficult for anyone to notice the replication.

The driveway to this new home slopes down to a tuck-under garage. Inside the garage, to the left, is a hallway leading to the stairway up to the main floor. Off the hallway is a door to the lower level living area. Rooms on this floor have labels such as a recreation room, wet bar, and bedroom five. However, this area is essentially a separate one-bedroom apartment, with a private full bathroom, washer/dryer, and exterior entrance.

The main floor is several feet above the street-level, requiring a flight of stairs to get up to the covered front porch. The porch extends two-thirds the width of the house, stopping at the garage door. Inside the front door, there is an L-shaped stairway leading upstairs. To the right is the Great Room with a fireplace on the south wall. In the back right corner of the room is a Dining area. Although it is not walled off, the Dining area has 6-inch by 6-inch posts defining the room’s corners. A box beam ceiling further defines the space. A substantial 10-foot wide sliding glass door opens from the Dining area onto a fourteen by ten foot raised back deck.

To the left of the Dining area is the Kitchen, arranged in an L shape. Creating the boundary to the Kitchen is a large island with bar seating. The half bathroom sits in the back right corner of the main floor. Enclosed by double glass doors, bedroom four is on the front left side of the main floor. It is ideal for a home office instead of a bedroom, but has a closet and counts towards bedrooms.

The top floor has two standard sized bedrooms on the left side. They share a full bathroom located at the top of the stairs. A laundry room is off to the right of the stairway. The master suite occupies the right half of the top floor. The bedroom portion is fourteen feet square and topped by a tray ceiling. Beyond the bedroom is a double vanity on one side and soaking tub on the other. The ensuite area extends back further to include a toilet room, shower, and a large walk-in closet.

Unlike its duplicate, this home fronts on an unimproved road. It will be interesting to see if the builder creates sidewalks and a partial road around this corner lot. If not, it will be a useful experiment seeing if the difference between paved and unpaved roads will affect the home’s price.

Community, Construction, New Residence

Duplicate Infill Houses

Under construction at 8014 SE Madison Street, the new three-bedroom house shares the exact layout as another recently completed house in Montavilla. 1328 NE 76th Ave by Wilde Properties completed construction at the beginning of the year. Both houses use the same plan set provided by Thogerson Designs.

The listing for 1328 NE 76th Ave contains some interior images. However, it is likely that Capital Builders LLC, the developer of 8014 SE Madison Street, will use different finishes in this project. Exterior cladding may also utilize other materials and colors.

As with the other house, a single car garage occupies eleven feet of the fifteen-foot wide home. Set back eight feet from the front of the house is the entryway. This setback has the advantage of reducing hallway length from the front door to the rest of the house and provides a covered porch. Inside the front door, a four-foot-wide hallway leads back to the center of the house. Just before reaching the great room is a small 1/2 bath, tucked under the U-shaped stairs. The bathroom is small enough you could wash your hands while seated but has adequate headroom. The Great Room with a gas fireplace is beyond the U-shaped stairs. Above the fireplace are hookups for a wall-mounted TV. The kitchen and dining area occupy the back of the first floor. A sliding glass door leads out to the back yard.

The master bedroom fills the front of the second floor. The ensuite contains a double vanity, separate shower, and soaking tub. Across from the ensuite is a double-wide closet. The ensuite wall and the closet doors form a ten-foot long hallway to the master bedroom door. Having the hallway in the room gives the bedroom an extra level of privacy, even if the door is open.

At the top of the stairs is a shallow linen closet. The hallway stretches down the right side of the building, ending in a full bathroom, taking up the second floor’s right back corner. The left side, of the rear portion of the level, is split between two bedrooms and a laundry room. The Laundry room is between two standard bedrooms and backed against the closets for each bedroom.

Reusing blueprints is not uncommon in this type of construction. Considering that there are few successful designs for a narrow lot, there are bound to be replication and reuse. Having two different builders construct a house from the same plans will be interesting to observe. Each one should put a unique spin on design, highlighting how substantially finishes can change a home’s appearance.