PORTLAND, Ore. – A house built at the turn of the 20th century in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood of Southeast Portland will be torn down to make way for a multi-unit development.
Located at 2311 SE 11th Ave., and also listed as 2309 SE 11th Ave., the single-family home was built in 1900 and totals 1,393 square feet in size.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
It is built on a 1,875-square-foot lot.
The property most recently sold for $280,000 in 2009, and city records list Ron Wagner, Erin Wagner, Steven Plinski and Tyana Plinski as the owners.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
In 2014 the city received a complaint that the chimney on the house was “ready to collapse,” and in response a permit was issued to “remove collapsing chimney and repair wall.”
Last July the city received an application for new construction of a six-unit apartment complex on the site of the 1900 house. The application indicates that the development would include an “eco roof.”
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
Drawing included with design application in city records
The applicant on the construction permit is listed as Brandon Yoder of Builders Design Inc., while the contractor is R and E Construction LLC, registered in Tigard.
Prior to that application, in 2014 the owners submitted a land use review application for design review on the new development. The city approved the design in May 2015, as well as a modification to reduce a required six-foot-wide walkway down to five feet.
On Feb. 2 the developer applied for demolition of the 116-year-old house. The permit was issued the same day, as the lot is not residentially zoned and was therefore not subject to the 35-day demolition delay.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
The property is located in the Central Employment (EX) zone, which governs development scope by floor-area-ratio. The EX zone allows for a floor-area-ratio of 3 to 1, meaning the development can have a gross square footage of three times the square footage of the lot it sits on.
In this case, that would seem to allow a 5,625-square-foot apartment complex.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
The lot is also within a design overlay zone, which “promotes the conservation, enhancement, and continued vitality of areas of the City with special scenic, architectural, or cultural value,” according to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.