I live a block away from a group of houses that are currently boarded up awaiting demolition up off N Interstate. Some have been empty since June. There are 9 of them along with a commercial structure. Over the summer, a couple of the houses became dumping grounds for trash – probably from when people moved out, but also items that people dumped. Next came the graffiti that was poorly covered up by whomever is the caretaker. Now, a few of the houses have become temporary homes to homeless youths. The plywood over the back doors are easily removed and this evening, I saw a group of those kids walk towards the back of the houses and disappear.
Here’s one image of what will be there. I’m all for development in this area. Original development plans called for 3 stories on N. Maryland and now has 5 stories. That’s a big difference.
I wish the developers or owners would either get on with the demolition and subsequent construction or put up fences to keep the riff raff out. My concern is that since the properties have been vacant for so long, everyone knows they are available to squat in. Also, sine TriMet doesn’t check fares on MAX, it is only a hop skip and a jump from downtown. Further, while the developers keep saying they plan to begin “soon,” with the economy the way it is, how can one be sure. Get on with it or remove the plywood and re-rent the properties.
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Complain to the City! Nuisance complaint. They were pretty good at fining the ass off the owners of similar property on my block
Demolition is supposed to begin this month. This may answer more questions.
http://tinyurl.com/4jo87r
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