Ryan Olsen Razes 91-Year-Old Division Street Home

Part of a series on 3415 SE Division St.

Ryan Olsen Razes 91-Year-Old Division Street Home

PORTLAND, Ore. – A 91-year-old house located on the newly-redeveloped Southeast Division Street has been demolished to make way for three “luxurious modern” homes in a development titled, “Living on Division.”

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

The demolished house was built in 1924 and sat on a 4,165-square-foot lot.

The 1924 house had sold several times over the years, including in 2002, 2005, and 2009. The most recent sale in spring 2014 was for a price of 357,000 and the buyer was Ryan Olsen Custom Homes LLC.

In May 2014 The Oregonian reported six tenants were given 30 days notice from the house, which had been known as “Breakfast House” and had been cooperatively run. While the evicted tenants did not know for sure, the advice that they didn’t need to clean thoroughly led them to suspect the house would be razed.

In August 2014 Olsen applied for demolition of the Division Street house.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

In an apparent change of plans, in November 2014 Olsen placed the house on the market again, advertising it as a tear-down and redevelopment opportunity for up to six new units. The house was re-listed for $500,000, which was $143,000 more than it sold for six months prior.

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The house sat vacant for just over 15 months from the time the tenants were evicted to its demolition. In June 2015, well over a year after Olsen purchased the lot, the city received a complaint of “very overgrown” grass and vegetation.

Earlier this year plans apparently changed again, as a sign went up advertising the future plans for the property: three units built by Ryan Olsen Custom Homes.

Photo credit: Portland Reddit

The sign directs viewers to a website for Elemental Urban Living that lists four development sites, “Living on Michigan,” “Living on Curtis,” “Living on Holland” and “Living on Division.” Each development features “innovative green, sustainable modern courtyard homes” that are “much more than townhomes, houses or condos.” Instead, they are “the ultimate architecture of the modern lifestyle” and they strive to “seamlessly integrate into the unique Portland environment.”

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Rendering from Elemental Urban Living

The Division Street development that will replace the 1924 home includes three units “priced from the high 500’s” and ranging from about 2000 to 2400 square feet in size.

“Living on Division,” which Elemental Urban Living describes as “right in the middle of a Portland re-development phase” allowing tenants to live where “new shops, restaurants, entertainment are all within walking distance,” also provides “a lifestyle of comfort” and “exquisite amenities.”

Rendering from Elemental Urban Living

The demolition permit was issued Feb. 26, 2015, and early this week the house was demolished.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

No construction permits have been filed.