PORTLAND, Ore. – Two single-family houses will be demolished in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood after recent sales to a former Portland Design Commission member.
The houses are located at 2726 SE 26th and 2740 SE 26th. The former was built in 1961 and is 2,228 square feet in size, while the latter was built in 1923 and totals 1,752 square feet. Both sit on roughly 4,850-square-foot lots.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
In January the houses sold for a combined total of $732,500.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
Both had formerly been owned by various members of the Huey family. The houses were purchased by Chester Enterprises LLC.
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On Feb. 20 the Bureau of Development Services received applications for demolition of both houses.
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While there have been no construction permits filed, both houses were subject to the 35-day demolition delay, indicating that they will not be replaced by two single-family homes.
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Chester Enterprises LLC is registered to Loren Waxman, listed at a townhouse address directly adjacent to the houses on 26th. Waxman served two terms on the Portland Design Commission, a city-appointed board tasked with reviewing land use requests, providing design advice to other committees and more, from 2000 to 2008. Waxman has also been involved in other development projects around Portland.
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City permits indicate Waxman, along with James Meakin, owned property at N. Shaver and N. Vancouver streets under the name Shaver Street Partners LLC and was working to develop a five-story mixed-use building with 30 multifamily and 46 “group living units.” In December Waxman’s LLC sold the property to Vancouver Avenue Apartments, registered to David P. Weiner, for $2,100,000. Shaver Street Partners LLC had purchased it in 2005 for $445,000, suggesting the property more than quadrupled in value in the nine intermittent years.
One month after the $2.1 million sale, Waxman purchased the Southeast 26th Avenue homes.
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It is unclear who is now involved with the development at N. Shaver and N. Vancouver streets, although Vic Remmers, TVA Architects and Gene Bolante of Studio 3 Architecture have all appeared on various preliminary permits over the past year.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle
The demolition permits for the Southeast 26th Avenue houses will not be issued prior to March 27.