Demolition at 1900 Hosford Home, Potential Delay Violation

PORTLAND, Ore. – A 115-year-old single-family home in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood of Southeast Portland will be demolished to make way for at least one new residence.

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The house, located at 2605 SE 21st Ave., totals 879 square feet on a 5,000-square-foot lot.

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The property sold in late February for $480,000. It had most recently sold before that for $30,000 in 1991. A week and a half after the sale was recorded the new owner applied for demolition of the 1900 structure. The permit was issued the same day, citing one new single-family residence coming in on the lot which seems to have waived the 35-day demolition delay.

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However, the property is located within an R2.5 zone which means there could technically be a lot partition for two new houses. The new construction permit also lists an address of 2080 SE Ivon St., which is different from the address of the existing lot. Additionally there is an open public registry permit confirming two lots on the property.

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Still, the existing house was not subject to the delay, meaning replacing it with multiple units would violate the delay exemption ordinance. This has proven to be a common situation virtually unenforced by the Bureau of Development Services.

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One reader has explained to the Portland Chronicle that this process is “not a violation because code doesn’t bind applicant regarding future land actions. At most a loophole in the code.”

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The owner of the property on Southeast 21st Avenue is Structure Redevelopment, registered in Clackamas to Natalie Rudnitsky.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle