By Leo Newman | Contributing Writer
On September 16th, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to initiate foreclosure on 2734-2738 NE Alberta, colloquially known as the ‘Alberta Pit.’ The site on the corner of NE 28th and Alberta, inundated by a mound of untouched rubble of the historic Cowley Building, has accrued $105,627.81 in delinquent city liens since its demolition in December 2024. The vote possibly brings a close to a years-long battle between the city and its proprietor, Erzsabet Eppley, over the troubled property which stood dilapidated and vacant for several years prior to its demolition.
“Neighbors are beyond ready to say goodbye to what has been, for a while now, a hazardous property,” Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (D2) said in a statement to Concordia News.
The property returned to the public’s attention after the Housing and Permitting Committee referred the matter of foreclosure to the City Council in early August. A couple weeks later, a satirical advertisement for the “Pittman Apartments” appeared on the property’s surrounding fencing. The sign featured an AI-generated image of a luxury apartment complex engulfed in debris and tennis shoes. A QR code next to the building linked to the city government’s webpage for reporting property code violations.
The stunt drew the attention of local residents and business owners, several of whom submitted written testimony in favor of foreclosing the property ahead of the council’s vote. Several testimonies pointed to dangers posed to pedestrians by the blocked off sidewalk in front of the property on Alberta Street.
“Portland talks constantly about revitalization, housing, economic development, and bringing life back to our commercial corridors,” wrote Brad Trost. “Meanwhile, a highly visible piece of property in the middle of one of our most successful neighborhoods has been allowed to remain a fenced-off symbol of dysfunction.
Eppley does not necessarily disagree. The proprietor had challenged the penalty liens that encumbered the property, claiming that the city never explained their cause. In an 11-page affidavit submitted as public testimony to the council, Eppley requested that the council forgive the liens, which she claimed made the property unattractive to buyers. The affidavit also argued that the city’s move to initiate foreclosure negates Eppley’s continued effort to remain compliant with city audits.
Background
Eppley serves as proprietor for a relative, a minor who inherited the property from Eppley’s father after his death. Eppley’s father, Joseph Bozcki, fled Hungary during the 1956 Revolution and settled in Portland, whose surrounding hillsides reminded him of Budapest. By 1964, he had acquired the historic Cowley Building, where he lived and operated an appliance shop. The two-story brick structure had a colorful history once boasted a maple dancefloor spanning the entire second storey and, according to Eppley, a basement speakeasy outwardly advertised as a revolving door of revivalist churches. Bozcki and his wife Erzsabet would go on to acquire a portfolio of about twenty properties in the Portland area. When he died in 2010, he left his first property to his grandson, and Eppley oversees it.
By then, the Cowley Building had fallen into considerable disrepair. Its apartments upstairs were reportedly prone to leaks. Its anchor tenant, Stephen Ferruzza, owner of Al Forno Ferruzza, a Sicilian-style pizzeria and music venue on the ground floor, told Willamette Week that he vacated the building in 2014 after the owners failed to react to a burst pipe in time, which led to an unsafe mold build-up. Ferruzza also rented his home on NE Tillamook Street from Eppley, who evicted him in June 2014, according to court records.
After Ferruzza’s departure, the Cowley building stood vacant. Eppley came under fire in October 2022 when several unreinforced bricks from the building’s east face fell onto the sidewalk. In response, the Portland Bureau of Development Services opened a “dangerous building case,” the first of a long series of public inquiries into the structural integrity of the building and its unreinforced masonry, and erected fencing around the property.
In the affidavit submitted to the City Council ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Eppley claimed that she reacted promptly to the failing bricks in compliance with city orders. The affidavit also reports that Eppley retained a forensic engineer to audit the building around this time. The audit found that the bricks up to the ground floor were compromised from water damage, possibly stemming from severe flooding after a water main break down the street that flooded Alberta Street for several blocks.
In the two years that followed, Eppley incurred upwards of $60,000 in code violations Eppley says she consulted with multiple architects to renovate the property while honoring its historical significance. In 2023, she applied for a permit to demolish the second story. However, the city would only grant a permit to demolish the entire structure, Eppley says.
She is also the proprietor of the boarded-up house behind the property as well as the Cruz Room on NE 23rd, another Alberta business that stood vacant for several years. A new tenant has leased the former bar since April and is making renovations, Eppley says.
Next Steps
Demolition on the Cowley Building began in December 2024. Eppley says that the minor owner’s trust was effectively drained after spending half a million dollars financing the demolition, including asbestos removal and lead abatement, not to mention mounting zoning violations, and attorney fees. She says the trust did not have enough remaining money to clear the mound debris, which has tormented Alberta residents for nearly two years.
Now that the council has voted to initiate foreclosure, the city will be able to take the property, zoned for mixed-commercial use, to foreclosure sale. A representative of Councilor Sameer Kanal (D2) told Concordia News that the councilor expressed interest in purchasing the property for the city in the event of foreclosure.
“This was expected but it is still unfortunate” Eppley said of the decision. She says she is currently looking into ways to best respond to the Council’s vote. Eppley is now more than ever interested in preserving the legacy of the Cowley building, and has plans to write a book on the history of the Cowley Building.
“Tonight’s move to initiate the foreclosure of 2734-2738 NE Alberta Street is a concrete step toward remedying this long-blighted property along one of the most vibrant commercial corridors in District 2” wrote Councilor Dan Ryan (D2) in a statement to Concordia News.
Leo Newman is a freelance reporter and paralegal based in NE Portland. He covers housing and development, immigration policy and the environment.