PORTLAND, Ore. – A house built 85 years ago in the Eastmoreland neighborhood of Southeast Portland will be torn down by a Lake Oswego based development company and replaced by multiple new residences.
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Located at 3636 SE Bybee Blvd., the house was built in 1931 and totals 2,437 square feet in size on a 6,525-square-foot lot.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
On June 24 the house sold to Renaissance Custom Homes LLC, registered to Randy Sebastian, for $590,000. Its most recent recorded sale prior to that was in 1986 when it sold for $78,000.
The real estate listing for the house noted its “charming period details” including hardwood floors on the main floor, “coved ceilings, crown molding & wood burning fireplace.” The listing also described the remodeled kitchen which “features a sunny nook with leaded glass built ins, island and slider to large deck and an amazing yard and garden!”
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
Three days after the recorded sale the city received an application to demolish the 85-year-old house. The applicant was listed as Kevin Partain of Urban Visions.
Two days before the recorded sale, the city received applications to build two new houses on the property. One application intake noted that the city needs “proof of ownership before issuance,” an uncommon appearance on permit intakes. Permits are often applied for well in advance of recorded sales, and this language suggests a city effort to address that lapse.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
Although the property is zoned R5 generally allowing for one residential unit per 5,000 square feet of land, the property contains an underlying lot line that the developer applied to reopen and shift, splitting the lot in two and taking advantage of grandfathered regulations in the city code.
The demolition permit was issued on Aug. 4. Demolition equipment has appeared in the yard.
Signs on the fence surrounding the property read, “Poison – No Smoking or Eating,” “Warning – Lead Work Area” and “Air Monitoring in Progress.”
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor