- 1898 Northwest Homes Prepare for Demolition, Bypass Delay
- Update: 1898 Northwest Homes Torn Down
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two houses built 117 years ago have received demolition permits in the Northwest District, although the information is missing from Bureau of Development Services permit lists filed last week.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
The houses are located at 2652 and 2658 NW Thurman St. and are built on a single 5,000-square-foot lot.
The property most recently sold in 2002 for $290,000 to Priscilla Goodwin and Stephen Dixon. In 2005 it transferred into ownership by DGNW LLC, which is registered to Goodwin and Dixon.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
There are no recent sales transactions listed on real estate database websites, suggesting the ownership remains the same.
On Aug. 28 the Bureau of Development Services received applications for demolition of both houses. The permit intakes indicate that because the comprehensive plan designation for the property is commercial, the demolitions are not subject to the 35-day demolition delay standard for residential demolitions.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
But despite this information appearing on PortlandMaps.com, no record of the demolition applications appears on the BDS residential permit intakes list dated Aug. 24 – Aug. 30. As the permits were issued Aug. 31 the issuance record should appear on the list for this coming week, but the application intake record should have appeared last week.
Because the record was omitted from the BDS list, it is unclear at this time who the applicant or contractor is on the demolition.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
There are no construction permits or land use reviews that indicate the future plans for the property, but two “dangerous building” permits state, “excavated basement to be reused for new house.” While there are two of these permits, each lists the 2658 NW Thurman St. address, so it is unclear whether the foundations of both addresses will be retained.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
“Dangerous building” permits often show up during the demolition and redevelopment process when a foundation will be reused, and do not necessarily indicate anything about the previous condition of the house that has been demolished.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle