PORTLAND, Ore. – A demonstration will be held Saturday outside a 127-year-old building that is proposed to be demolished for construction of a new mixed-use development.
Located at 3334 SE Belmont St. (and also 3336 SE Belmont St.), the structure built 127 years ago is located on a 3,373-square-foot lot.
Developer Get R Done LLC and applicant BKL/A Architecture submitted an early assistance application in January, for development of a three-story mixed use building that would “replace current building,” according to the permit intake.
Although no demolition permits have been applied for, the language of the intake indicates the existing building would be demolished.
Belmont Records closed last weekend. The business wrote on its Facebook page several days before closing, describing surveyors taking measurements in front of the building.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
A petition to preserve the building has received more than 5,300 signatures, and proponents of preservation have charted the history of this section of Belmont Street on a website called 3334ever.org.
The Southeast Examiner reported the developer told attendees of a February land use meeting that if they want to prevent it from being demolished they can buy the building back for $2 million. That has so far not happened.
Local group “Stop Demolishing Portland” is holding a demonstration outside the building this weekend.
“This is the beginning of a slippery slope that will likely lead to the loss of this popular business district, once this demolition and redevelopment takes place,” organizers explained, adding among other concerns that “this section of Belmont that makes up the historic business district has great historical significance for Portlanders” and that “the building is attached on each side to other historic buildings, we have concerns for the well-being of those structures during the demo and redevelopment.”
The event will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday morning at 3334 SE Belmont St.