Two Blocks from Razed Church, Kusyk to Demolish 1903 House

PORTLAND, Ore. – Blocks away from a church that was razed last spring and a 1907 house that was torn down during the summer, the same Wilsonville-based developer will demolish a 113-year-old house.

Located at 3957 NE 7th Ave. in the King neighborhood of northeast Portland, the house is located on a standard 5,000-square-foot lot and totals 1,040 square feet in size.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

On Nov. 30 the property sold for $346,000 to Firenze Development Inc., registered to Peter Kusyk at a business address of 7110 SW Old Wilsonville Road in Wilsonville.

Prior to the sale the home was advertised as a “light fixer.

Last spring Kusyk garnered attention for demolishing the former St. Paul’s Evangelical and Reformed Church and later Gethsemane Church of God in Christ at 801 NE Failing St.

The church was torn down and a two-story duplex is rising in its place.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Kusyk’s development company also demolished a 1907 house less than a block north of the newly proposed demolition. That tear-down also saw the felling of a willow tree.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Contributed Photo

Photo credit: Contributed Photo

On Dec. 21 the Bureau of Development Services received an application to demolish the 1903 house on Northeast 7th Avenue. Because it is in a residential zone the demolition is subject to the 35-day demolition delay period.

The applicant and contractor were both listed as Firenze Development Inc.

No new construction permits have yet been filed, but the 5,000-square-foot lot is in an R2.5 zone, meaning there could be two residential units built on the site.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

The house to be demolished is also located within an “alternative design density” overlay zone, which according to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability aims “to focus development on vacant sites, preserve existing housing and encourage new development that is compatible with and supportive of the positive qualities of residential neighborhoods.”