This article has been updated to reflect the possibility of multiple residences being developed on the property, rather than what we previously reported as the likelihood that a single new house would be constructed.
PORTLAND, Ore. – A 91-year-old house in the Eastmoreland neighborhood of Southeast Portland is under a demolition delay period, and while there are no construction permits filed the property could potentially be developed into multiple new residences despite the area’s zoning.
The colonial-style house was built in 1924 and is located at 3030 SE Rex St. It is 1,896 square feet in size and is built on a 9,700-square-foot lot.
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Both city and county records do not list any recent sales of the property, listing Dale and Linda Headrick as the owners of the house since 1995.
However, Zillow lists an April 30 sale for $645,000, and on May 7 the Bureau of Development Services received an application for demolition of the 91-year-old home, with the owner listed as Eden Enterprises LLC. This business is registered to Charles Thomas and Dean A. Reynolds at 5505 SW Delker Road in Tualatin.
Because it is a single-family residence in a residential zone, the demolition is subject to the 35-day delay.
The contractor on the demolition is Renaissance Custom Homes LLC, registered to Randal Sebastian at 16771 Boones Ferry Road in Lake Oswego. This development company has been involved in a number of demolitions in the Eastmoreland neighborhood.
The applicant on the demolition permit is Kevin Partain of Urban Visions Planning Services. Partain is a fixture of the weekly demolition permit lists published by the Portland Chronicle.
Eden Enterprises and Renaissance Custom Homes have worked together on other projects, including a high-profile demolition and redevelopment on Southeast Belmont Street.
That house, located at 2808 SE Belmont St., and its lot sold to Eden Enterprises in 2013 for $650,000. To make redevelopment possible the 3,517-square-foot single-family home built in 1906 was demolished.
The house was demolished, the lot was subdivided and Renaissance Custom Homes built four new homes in its place.
The four new houses sold for $674,900; $588,000; $579,000; and $674,900 for a combined total of $2,516,800. This is about $1.8 million more than the price paid by Eden Enterprises for the 1906 house.
Although there are no construction permits filed on the Eastmoreland site, the property is located within an R5 zone meaning that for future land divisions there can be one residence per 5,000 square feet of land, according to Bureau of Planning and Sustainability density regulations. Because the lot is 9,700 square feet in size, it would not seem to be enough land to allow two residential units under the R5 zoning.
However, this property contains an underlying lot line that could potentially be re-established and would split the 9,700-square-foot lot into two parcels that could each be developed.
Additionally, this property falls under Zoning Code 33.110.240, “Alternative Development Options,” which allows for one extra unit of density on corner lots in a number of zones including this site’s R5 zone.
The demolition delay on the 1924 Eastmoreland home is set to expire June 11.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle