- Glisan Homes, 92 Years Old, Demolished for Complex
- Demolition on Glisan: 37 Units Will Replace 1923 Homes
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two houses in the Kerns neighborhood of Northeast Portland have been demolished to make way for a multifamily apartment complex five stories tall.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
The houses were located at 2238 and 2248 NE Glisan St. Previously reported on by the Portland Chronicle in January, county records indicate the houses sold in November 2014 from Marvin and Janet Foust to Treece & Lambert LLC for $805,000.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
On Sept. 10 the new owner applied for demolition of the houses. Because the properties are located within a commercial zone the demolitions were not subject to the 35-day demolition delay. Still, the houses remained standing for seven months following the permit issuance.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
In late April the houses were demolished.
In place of the one- and two-story homes, Treece & Lambert plans to construct a five-story 37-unit mixed-use complex. Applications call the top story a “partial 5th floor” because it will not stretch across the entire building, but will only be adjacent to the Glisan Street property line.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Architect Barry Smith and the new owner, Martin Treece of Treece & Lambert, applied for an adjustment to the legally allowed height of the building. The “partial 5th floor” extends higher than the mandated 45-foot height limit in the Commercial Storefront zone. The developers, or more accurately Mike Coyle of permit middleman service Faster Permits, applied for an exemption to the code.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Their rationale, according to city documents, was that the property site is near Sandy Boulevard, where higher buildings are allowed.
While there was a neighborhood appeal of the Bureau of Development Services’ approval of the adjustment, the BDS opted to ignore the appeal and approve the decision again. The BDS did impose a fairly strict requirement. In exchange for its approval of the exemption to the legal height limit, the developer must submit required site plans.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
New owner Martin Treece, registered at 2905 SW First Ave., is listed by Google Plus as a “financial planning consultant.”
The property is located within both Main Street Corridor and Design overlay zones. While the corridor overlay encourages “higher density residential uses,” the design overlay aims to “promotes the conservation, enhancement, and continued vitality of areas of the City with special scenic, architectural, or cultural value.”
The five-story building permit is under review.