It all started last summer when a new owner purchased a home on the corner of Northeast. 32nd Ave. and Glisan Street with plans to tear it down and rebuild. Suddenly, this move had everyone's attention in the neighborhood. This home was not built for the standard Portland design but was rather a Spanish looking stucco construction designed to lure people into the rising Laurelhurst neighborhood. But today, this eyesore is projected to be torn down and rebuilt.

This 5000 ft.² house initially served as a real estate office and appears perfectly fine from the outside, however the inside leaves much to be desired. With many broken down items and materials, the home was originally set to be completely demolished. The new owner wanted to replace the building with two new buildings likely to sell for more than the $467,000 he originally paid for the property.Older homes to make way for new homes in Portland

Portland developers have been known to tear down old Portland homes to build a bigger and more denser housing development. In 2014, these residential demolitions in the Portland area rose by a about 30% from the year before. Those that want to preserve these types of homes are concerned that tearing down vulnerable structures, including the natural foliage around them can chip away at the city's historic identity.

There isn't much that most people can do to stop or even slow these demolitions in many urban areas. These projects can quickly unfold finalizing permits before the opposition can mobilize. As to the Lauralhurst home, a coalition of neighboring residents hope to buy out the house but the owner wanted over $700,000, much more than he'd originally paid. Neighbors and supporters scrambled to find someone who could take control and restore the older home. They found fifth-generation Portland resident John McCulloch. John prides himself on loving challenges and motivated by community pride. However, John felt that the estimated amount needed to make the home livable was over $400,000 and he would eventually sell the property for over $1 million just to break even. Even though neighbors crowd funded, the original owner eventually sold to John and the history about how his challenge.

Related: What to know about buying an historical home

Most neighborhoods and residence within that neighborhood do not have the resources nor the ambition to fight such an uphill battle for many historical homes. Investors are coming along and tearing down homes especially in the inner Eastside neighborhoods housing some of Portland's oldest and most decrepit properties. Many residents are finding their perfect historical home in these types of neighborhoods however, distressed homes are being torn down for more "skinny houses" that maximize the space on the lot. Many of these lives mean the cutting down of all trees and filling in the side yards and gardens with foundation for more structure.

According to a recent article in Portland Monthly, these demolitions may be clearing the way for some skinny houses, but overall they not doing much to foster density. In 2013 there were nearly 280 residential demolitions but only 30% resulted in additional housing units. Many of these Portland homes are simply replaced by brand-new single-family homes, one per lot.

Read More: Should you buy an older home?

This also brings up the issue of the "historic" house. Not every older home qualifies as a historical property. In the early 1900s Portland was the fastest growing city in the US making room for huge inner-city construction that is now over 100 years old. But, not all of these homes qualify for historical eligibility. Today, there's a 35 day delay in demolition of older properties so that neighborhoods may request further postponement or to challenge the demolition.

One thing is for certain, “Portland needs to react to its current and future ongoing growth with a newfound respect for one characteristic that helps make this town so special: it's past."

 

So what do you say? Is this arise for the natural growth of the city or is it agree issue, developers looking for the next place they can tear down and rebuild as fast as possible?

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