Irvington Home, 93 Years Old, Receives Demolition Permit

PORTLAND, Ore. – A house built in 1922 in the Irvington neighborhood is approaching demolition following the city issuing a permit last week.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

As the Portland Chronicle first reported last month, the house is located within the Irvington Historic District, although it is not a contributing structure. Because it is located in the historic district, a historic resource review is required for plans involving new development.

The house has subsequently received wider media attention from Willamette Week, KATU News, KGW News and The Oregonian.

City and county records as well as the permit applications list the property owner as Bernadette L. Suh, who has been the listed owner since 1988 after a $36,000 sale.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

The applicant on the demolition is Rich Eisenhauer of RAE Design & Associates, registered in Beaverton, who is also a program manager with the Portland Bureau of Transportation managing the transportation system development charge (SDC) program.

The contractor on the Northeast 13th Avenue demolition is John Duncan of Timberridge Development. This company designs, develops and sells its own “high end luxury homes,” according to its Facebook page.

When Eisenhauer submitted an application for a pre-application conference in May, the following drawings depicted the proposed replacement house.

Since that time, though, Willamette Week reported that Eisenhauer “hopes to alter the house’s design so it fits the neighborhood’s character and meets the city’s criteria,” so it is unclear whether this design is still the plan.

A demolition permit was issued May 29.