Landmark furniture store demolished for development

See wrecking crews clear the way for a long-promised housing and office space development on SE Division Street, at the Avenue of Roses …

Remember this landmark outer East Portland store? It’s been demolished to make way for a new four-story high-rise mixed-use building. East Portland News archive image

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Since 1960, the a large Discount Furniture store was the landmark on the southwest corner of SE Division Street at 82^nd Avenue of Roses, until it was vacated and fell into disrepair.

Looking west from SE 82^nd Avenue of Roses, the demolition crew has made quick work of tearing down the decades-old building.

The building was on property purchased in 2015 by Metro as part of their Transit Oriented Development program. Not long after, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), and the Jade District Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative, used the empty building shell as a multicultural center, through the end of 2017.

But, in early January, a wrecking crew arrived to tear down the sprawling store, to make way for brand new building – featuring 48 units of “affordable” housing, as well as APANO offices, and a multicultural community center – all as promised by ROSE Community Development Corporation’s Executive Director Nick Sauvie, at the project’s November 2 groundbreaking ceremony.

> To read about the groundbreaking, CLICK HERE to see our article,
‘Jade Mixed-Use Project’ breaks ground.

Excavators tear down the building and load debris on waiting trucks.

When completed, a year from now in January of 2019, the ground floor of the new 5,000 sq. ft. building will include a Cultural Center and public plaza, as well as the housing units.

Here’s an architect’s drawing of the new building, coming to this corner.

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