Brett VandenHeuvel, the executive director of the nonprofit environmental group Columbia Riverkeeper, celebrated the Fourth of July by installing solar panels at his house in the Columbia Gorge and working to achieve, what he calls, energy independence. Here’s what he did to reduce his use of fossil fuel energy: On Independence Day, my family turned […]
More than 80% of America’s population is clustered in its cities. This, of course, is no surprise. After all, cities are where the jobs are, where public transportation makes it a snap to get around, where you can get a whole roasted pig head delivered with a single tap on your iPhone, where beautiful people congregate in herds. It’s […]
Text by Toija Beutler, Attorney/Owner, Beutler Exchange Group, LLC 1031 is an incentive program for the Investor who owns rental properties, commercial properties or investment land. When the Investor sells they can defer the payment of the capital gains tax … as long as they work with their real estate agent to find and buy […]
Rescued pianos are coming back to life on the streets of Portand, put back in public cirulation by Piano! Push! Play!, an organization that is on on a mission to “make pianos available to anyone who wants to play them.” At Portland’s Salmon Street Springs Fountain, one of the recovered instruments (boldly labeled “PIANO” on […]
Portland’s City Council has given the go-ahead on a measure requiring contractors who demolish homes built before 1916 to fully deconstruct them. The idea is that the materials become available for reuse, as opposed to simply thrown in the landfill. The Council approved the measure unanimously. Portland is the nation’s first to pass such a […]
What once may have hauled everything from new sneakers to smartphones across the seas and across the country could now be part of the answer to Portland’s housing state of emergency. At least that’s how Montana-based Montainer Inc. is in part positioning its entry into the Portland market next week. The company, which is headquartered […]
When it comes to their perfect city, a majority of millennials want a thriving job market, affordable rent and home prices, lots of parks and hiking trails, non-chain restaurants and, of all things, quality pizza. So say the folks at apartment rental company Abodo, which recently released t he results of a survey that shows […]
The abandoned house at 8515-8517 N. Portsmouth Ave. has sparked complaints from neighbors for 24 years. Its owner has violated multiple city codes over the past five years and racked up more than $66,000 in liens. But its days as a nuisance are coming to an end. Last week, the Portland City Council unanimously voted to […]
All around the country, people in communities of many ages—from colonial Boston to postwar Minneapolis—tell similar, virtuous narratives about how their neighborhoods were built. These narratives, in turn, set powerful assumptions about what an affordable, friendly neighborhood can and should look like. Recently, a columnist in Seattle Magazine laid out his version of the story […]
Portlanders down over demolition in the city’s neighborhoods will be able to share their laments and ideas with the city during a series of open houses throughout the summer. The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s Residential Infill Project and a stakeholder advisory committee are currently exploring different ways to tweak the city’s zoning rules to […]