PORTLAND, Oregon — Portland City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to foreclose on the old Gordon's Fireplace Shop building in Northeast Portland.
The foreclosure of the historic structure that has since become a magnet for graffiti comes after more than $20,000 unpaid fines by the property owner for code enforcement violations. The iconic building on the corner of Northeast 33rd Avenue and Broadway is visible from Interstate 84, just east of downtown Portland.
A KGW investigation found that despite plans for renovation, the building has fallen into disrepair, generating neighbor complaints. Between June 2023 and May 2024, the police have been called twice for incidents at the building, and around 31 calls were made due to incidents within 200 feet of the property — mostly for disorder, according to city of Portland report recommending foreclosure.
Rob Brewster, the developer, said the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plans to convert the building into offices and is now looking at renovating it into apartments. However, he said the process has been "painful" to get the proper building permits approved, with it taking several months longer than expected.
In response, Mike Liefield, from the city of Portland, explained it took around three months for the developer and his partners to respond to questions to move the permit forward that contributed to the delayed timeline.
“It’s simply not fair to say that all the delays were caused on the city’s end,” Liefield said.
Brewster said things stalled when the city required that the developer pay to redevelop the entire right-of-way next to the building, which he called "highly unreasonable."
“It would be very helpful to have some help from the city instead of constantly being pushed in multiple directions,” Brewster added.
Along with the old Gordon Fireplace Shop, Portland City Council unanimously voted to also foreclose on four other properties on Wednesday. Each of the properties were on the city’s vacant and distressed properties list and all have code enforcement violations and nuance complaints.
“These properties have been identified as causing significant problems for neighbors and are the subject of multiple and frequent police calls and numerous enforcement activities,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said.
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Other foreclosed properties
- 2626 North Baldwin Street, a vacant single-family home, where the owners are presumed dead. It has frequent squatter activity, and multiple police calls have been made to the house and the surrounding area, according to the city of Portland.
- 2734-2738 Northeast Alberta Street, multiple buildings with extensive damage and squatter activity. As of May 2024, the property owner owes over $53,000 in fines. There’s a code hearing scheduled to demolish the building, according to the city of Portland.
- 4611 North Minnesota Avenue, a single-family home that’s been damaged by a fire and has trash and debris on the property. As of May 2024, the property owner owes over $29,000 in fines. According to the city, the property owner planned to develop the site into an apartment building but has yet to do so, according to the city of Portland.
Property owners have up until the foreclosure sale to pay the amount owed to retain ownership. After the foreclosure sale, the former property owner can reclaim the site during a 90-day redemption period.
