Tag: Wilde Properties

Construction, New Residence

Eight NE 78th Townhomes Take Shape

Framing is near complete on eight townhomes along NE 78th Avenue as the developer readies the property for a Middle Housing Land Division (MHLD) that will create independent properties with a shared center driveway that dips below grade. The six homes in the back stand three stories tall and have attached garages. However, the off-street units hide their height by sitting several feet below ground, but their roofline is still visible over the low-slung roofline along the street.

Construction site of eight townhomes with wooden framing near completion, featuring a clear view of exposed structures and surrounding materials.
Framing of townhomes on my 14th

In 2021, a previous developer purchased the 1890-era building at 37 NE 78th Avenue, planning to construct several homes on the doublewide lot. After seeking Early Assistance for a rowhouse complex, the previous owner worked with an architect to develop building plans, but then halted work on the project. In March 2024, Wasatch Credit Association took over the property and sold it to Mark Wilde of Wilde Properties. In November 2024, Crews working with Meticulous Deconstruction completed wood salvage operations on the century-old building constructed with quality timbers hard to find in the modern wood supply.

Construction site of townhomes on NE 78th Avenue, featuring framed structures, surrounded by landscaping and construction equipment.
Framing of townhomes on my 10th

Wilde prefers projects that offer detached homes and have off-street parking with garages. However, this predesigned project he purchased was a compromise that provided infill density with some parking and distinct properties for each home, avoiding the need for condo-style Home Owners Association fees. Wilde explained that MHLD simplifies the infill development process and creates a better housing product for buyers. “I think it’s a fantastic idea. It really makes the land use process more efficient. I think it’s going to help with housing affordability in Portland when we don’t have to spend as much time and money on simple land use.”

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  • 101 NE 78th Avenue

The six back units offer around 1,400 square feet of living space with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. The two street-facing units provide residents with under 1,000 square feet of space and two bedrooms but do not have an attached garage. Soon, crews will begin focusing efforts on the inside of the eight townhomes after they seal the exterior with windows and doors. People should expect activity on the site to continue this summer, with the new homes on NE 78th Avenue listed for sale later this year.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Construction, Demolition, New Residence

Eight Townhomes on NE 78th

After a two-year delay, the new owner of 37 NE 78th Avenue will continue the eight-unit townhome development first proposed in 2022. The new homes will span two buildings, flanking a shared center driveway. The six off-street units will stand three stories tall and have an attached single-car garage. The two street-facing units offer two floors of living space and will not include attached parking for residents.

In 2021, a previous developer purchased the 1890-era building, planning to construct several homes on the doublewide lot. After seeking Early Assistance for a rowhouse complex, the previous owner worked with an architect to develop building plans but then halted work on the project. In March 2024, Wasatch Credit Association took over the property and sold it to Mark Wilde of Wilde Properties, a frequent contributor to the Montavilla area housing market.

Portland Maps image of 37 NE 78th Avenue

Wilde explained that the lender contacted him about the townhouse project after the bank foreclosed on the property, offering him the land and plan sets for the project as a package. Mark Wilde does not often build townhomes, instead focusing on detached houses or apartment buildings. However, this project was ready to build and had other attributes Wilde felt would make a successful development. “I like projects that have off-street parking and garages. It’s getting harder to do that in the city of Portland. So I’m generally attracted to those kinds of projects,” said Wilde. He also intends to sell all units to buyers earning at or below the median family income (MFI) level for a four-person household. This buyer restriction is part of a Portland program offering builders incentives to create new homes in the middle of the housing market. Portland’s MFI annual income limit for incentives is $116,900 as of April 2024.

This development will use Middle Housing Land Division (MHLD) to create distinct properties for each home, avoiding the need for condo-style Home Owners Association fees. Wilde explained that MHLD simplifies the infill development process and creates a better housing product for buyers. “I think it’s a fantastic idea. It really makes the land use process more efficient. I think it’s going to help with housing affordability in Portland when we don’t have to spend as much time and money on simple land use.”

The six back units will offer around 1,400 square feet of living space with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. The two street-facing units will provide residents under 1,000 square feet of space and two bedrooms. Demolition crews will remove the existing single-family home and open-sided carport ahead of construction. Although it is a century-old home, many modern updates to the structure have removed most of its historical significance and past owners let it fall into disrepair. Mark Wilde hopes to start construction before the end of the year. Look for activity on the site to pick up this fall, with eight new homes coming to NE 78th Avenue next year.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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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.

By

Jacob Loeb

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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.

Construction, New Residence, View of Montavilla

House With a View of Montavilla

Just outside of Montavilla, a new house is taking shape at 717 SE 72nd Ave. Although it is outside Montavilla, it is one of the many interesting buildings within eyesight of our neighborhood. This residence with attached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), is another development by Wilde Properties.

The most interesting element of this project is its duality. It is essentially a spacious two story house with a studio apartment and garage tucked underneath. This new house is not much higher off the street than the neighboring houses but clevely provides housing density. Due to the grade in the area, most houses sit atop a retaining wall, so although the main floor is starting on the 2nd story, it blends in with the other houses on the street.

717 SE 72nd Ave

The basement level has the single car garage with a door that leads into a utility room. That utility room is shared with the studio apartment and the residents upstairs. The studio apartment has an entrance from the utility room and an exterior stairwell. The kitchen takes up the majority of the apartment’s front third. Off to the back right side of the main room is a full bath and walk in closet. The house residents must go out from the garage through the utility room. The utility room exterior door is to the left of the lifting garage door. Then residents must walk out the driveway to reach the steps at the sidewalk.

The front of the house has a full width covered porch on the second and third floors. Centered on the second floor is the front door, leading to sizable entryway. To the right is the living room. To the left, through double doors, is the den. A small half bathroom is to the left just beyond the den. A guest closet is across the entryway from the bathroom. Walking towards the back of the house, from the entry, you pass the stairs up to the third floor. The hallway opens up to the great room with fireplace. From the great room, the dining room and kitchen are accessible. The kitchen has a large center island.

Upstairs are three bedrooms and the laundry room. The master bedroom occupies near all the right half of the third floor. The bedroom of the master is at the front of the house with double doors leading to the covered porch. At the back is a master bath with double vanities and a spa tub. Further back is a shower, toilet room, linen closet and walk in closet. The second bedroom is at the left front of the third floor. It too has double doors to the covered porch. In the back left is a third bedroom. Next to the third bedroom is the shared full bathroom, with double sinks.

This house offers many features of a larger family home with the added benefit of the apartment below. This would be an excellent option for a multigenerational family home or a property with added income from a rental.

Construction, New Residence

Infill Home with Good Layout

The new infill residence at 1328 NE 76th Ave will complete construction soon. Building on split lots poses many challenges. It’s challenging to create a functional floor plan in such a long structure. At just 15 feet wide, any architect would find challenges in creating a comfortable home. This single family residence dose does many things well to make use of the limited width inside.

At the front of the main floor is a single car garage. 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. Just before reaching the great room is a small 1/2 bath, tucked under the U-shaped stairs. The bathroom is small enough to wash hands while seated but demonstrates the height of spatial efficiency. Just beyond the U-shaped stairs is the great room with a gas fireplace. 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.

The development is by Wilde Properties, who is a specialized builder of infill homes in Portland. For an infill house, they appear to have created a pleasant residence. Considering the constraints, they have done well packing in a fair amount of home into a small package.