Kerns Home, Sold Well Below Market Value, to Be Demolished

PORTLAND, Ore. – A 90-year-old residence in the Kerns neighborhood of Northeast Portland has received a demolition permit to be replaced with an uncertain number of new residential units.

Located at 625 NE Randall Ave., the house built in 1925 is located on a 5,000-square-foot lot. The residence itself totals 956 square feet in size.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

City and county records list the owner of the property as Teal Davison Consulting LLC, since a sale in April for $290,000. The previous owners were John and Toni Stevens.

Prior to that transfer the house had most recently sold in 2005 for $259,000, just $31,000 less than its sale price a decade later.

The city estimates the property’s real market value as about $337,000, while real estate website Zillow’s estimate of its market value is nearly $470,000, about $180,000 higher than it sold for this past spring.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

On May 1 the city received an application for demolition of the house. The applicant was Henry Davison of Teal Davison Consulting LLC, while the contractor was Lovett Deconstruction.

While there have been no applications for new construction, an early assistance application received by the city in November offers a glimpse into the developer’s plans.

On Nov. 20, 2014 Henry Davison, at this point listing Realty Trust Group as an affiliation, applied for early assistance for a development project on the site. The intake explained that the future plan was to develop the site with four or five units, although there were no specifics and no site plan at the time of the early assistance application, which was “more for public works.”

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

When the house sold in April, the real estate listing indicates it was advertised as either a tear-down “opportunity” or as a house to live in.

“Great opportunity for investors, builders or homeowners,” the listing said, adding that the property’s R1 zoning allowed for five units to be “placed on the property.”

“Spectacular location in Portland’s Kerns neighborhood with close proximity to 28th Street restaurants, shopping, coffee, entertainment and Oregon park,” the listing continued.

Photo credit: Zillow

Photo credit: Zillow

“New carpet throughout main level with two bedrooms, one bath upstairs, defined living and dining room space. Large kitchen with breakfast area and huge basement with potential.”

The demolition permit was issued Aug. 14.

Teal Davison Consulting LLC is registered to Henry and Teal Davison.