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Author Archives: Web Manager

Logan Grocery building to be demolished

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, History

By Doug Decker | Historian

Here’s the former grocery store, as it appeared just last month. Photo by Gordon Riggs

The old green building at 33rd Avenue and Alberta Street says “Notice of 120-day delay for demolition.” That means the building is about to be torn down and replaced by condominiums.

Here’s the story: The 109-year-old grocery store building, built before both streets were paved, is slated for demolition and will be replaced by a three-story, mixed-use condominium and office building.

Developer Bob Bochsler of Box Real Estate Holdings in Portland expects demolition to take place in 2020 with construction to follow soon thereafter. Although drawings for the new structure are not yet complete, he envisions a building with a pitched roof and an inner courtyard facing Alberta. “I want to be in keeping with the Pacific Northwest style,” he said.

When the developer first approached the project, he said he wanted to consider ways to utilize the existing building. Adaptive reuse, however, was not cost effective, due to costs associated with reinforcing the foundation.

The property is ranked in the City of Portland Historic Resource Inventory, which recognizes its significance for potential historic register designation. However, because past owners never listed the property in the National Register of Historic Places, it may be torn down after a brief delay.

Operated from the 19-teens until the 1940s as Logan’s Grocery, the building cycled through multiple owners from the 1950s through the 1970s, known as Zwhalen’s Grocery and then as Romoli’s. From the late 1970s until recently, the building contained the studio and residence of noted Portland artist Jay Backstrand.

Concordian Bob Wilson, grandson of former storekeepers Anna and Earl Logan, has fond memories of the store from its heyday. In recent correspondence, Wilson shared these memories:

This photo from the 1920s shows Logan Grocery, a view looking southwest from the corner of 33rd Avenue and Alberta Street. The former, then known as the “county road,” was not yet paved. Photo courtesy of Bob Wilson

“When I was a small child, my grandparents lived in the house just south of the store. My grandmother would fix lunch every day for my grandfather Earl and bring it over to him.

“Earl was the storekeeper. Anna was the butcher for the store. As a small boy it was so much fun to be with my grandparents, and then to go over to their store and see all of the people who dropped by.”

I’m collecting memories and photos of the life of this old building and welcome hearing from any CNews readers who have a story or photo to share.

Doug Decker initiated his blog Alamedahistory.org in 2007 to collect and share knowledge about the life of old houses, buildings and neighborhoods in northeast Portland. His basic notion is that insight to the past adds new meaning to the present.

Ask the historian is a CNews standing feature that encourages readers to ask questions about the history of the neighborhood and its buildings. Is there something you’ve wondered about? Drop a line to CNewsEditor@ ConcordiaPDX.org and ask Doug Decker to do some digging.

Smell something foul? Report it with the new Smell MyCity app!

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Uncategorized
For years, residents of Concordia have complained about smells, from natural gas, to diesel exhaust, and even emissions from the airport. Until now, there hasn’t been an easy way to take action when you smell something noxious:
Announcing a new free app for reporting possible industrial air pollution incidents to Portland Clean Air!
Please help with this launch by downloading the app today and making a smell report- even if the smell report is positive.
Portland Clean Air has been working with Dr. Beatrice Dias from Carnegie Melon University, the developer of the app and Seventh Generation is helping to launch the app city wide.
The Smell MyCity app crowdsources community reports of pollution odors and visualizes our city’s air quality. Please help us with this launch by downloading the app today and making a smell report. Even if your report is an entirely positive one (which we all hope it is!) your report today will help us a lot on the receiving end. This is a better alternative than your complaints being ignored by DEQ or floating around Nextdoor. Portland Clean Air now has a toxic smell response team with monitoring equipment and the data from nine agencies to help pinpoint the source so Portland Clean Air can send in negotiators.

The Smell MyCity app is available on the App Store and on Google Play.
There is no fee to download the app – it’s free!
Click here for the iOS app
Click here for the Android app

The Smell MyCity website makes smell report data publicly accessible and easy for all residents and community groups to explore. You can visit the map visualization page to see how smell reports are distributed across the city over time. In addition, the data access page enables anyone to download smell report data for further analysis.

There’s no absence of titles in this new shop

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Tamara Anne Fowler | CNA Media Team

Mitchell Melville has stocked his Alberta Street bookstore with about 4,000 books, all used. And he’s continually finding more to add to the collection. Photo by Bernardino Quintanar

Travel down a whimsical dirt path surrounded by lush greenery and you will arrive at Melville books, a charming new addition to Alberta Street.

Mitchell Melville is the owner, and he has never owned a bookstore before; however, “I have been scouting books for about 10 years and selling online as well,” he said.

After making the decision to open a bookstore, Mitchell began attending as many library, estate and garage sales as possible to build a collection. He still goes out and buys at least four days a week before opening the shop. Open hours are noon to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

The store boasts about 4,000 titles in stock, all used. There are roughly 3,500 books inside and another 400-500 outside on carts.

Mitchell received the keys June 1 and the doors opened for a few hours July 21. Melville Books’ first official full day was July 24.

Although he can’t possibly choose what his absolute favorite books are, “‘White Teeth’ by Zadie Smith is one of my all time favorite novels. I try to read a little bit of everything but fiction and science fiction are my favorites.

“I loved the ‘Remembrance of Earth’s Past’ trilogy by Cixin Liu and the ‘Broken Earth’ trilogy by N.K. Jemisin,” Mitchell reported, noting both series are science fiction.

“I love reading science and math nonfiction, but also do some history and biography on occasion.”

He’s currently reading four books: “Little, Big” by John Crowley, “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond, “The Word for World is Forest” by Ursula K. LeGuin and “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco.

He and partner Isabel live in northwest Portland, and they are hoping to move to the eastside within five or six months. Their goal is to be somewhere close to the shop.

Isabel is originally from New York City and doesn’t have a driver’s license. “She never needed one,” Mitchell pointed out. “So we are looking for an area within walking distance of a good grocery store and with good public transit accessibility.”

Currently, Mitchell rides his bike to the store, which takes about 30 minutes. “In September, I started making an effort to ride here at least once a week, and I hope to be commuting via bike nearly every day before too long.

But the ride isn’t without challenges. “It’s hard when I have to schlep a bunch of books around on the bike.”

Tamara Anne Fowler is Edit Kitten, a writer with 20-plus years of experience offering a sof ter, gentler approach to editing and coaching. Her personal editors — Armani, Max Factor and Spicey’D — are also her cats. Visit her at EditKitten.com or contact her at Tamara@EditKitten.com.

She found her passion in consignment store

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Carrie Wenninger | CNA Media Team

Chelsea Llewellyn-Swanda created a successful consignment store strategy in Kenton, and now she’s bringing it to a second store on 42nd Avenue. Take It or Leave It opens in November. Photo by Lloyd Kimeldorf

Chelsea Llewellyn-Swanda is unzipping her parka-style jacket on a chilly October morning, about to sit down for a cup of coffee in the Kennedy School cafe, when a woman oohs adoringly over the bluetinged faux fur lining the hood.

Chelsea’s face brightens. “Thank you!” It’s a fitting exchange. Chelsea owns Give & Take Resale in Kenton and will open sister store Take It or Leave It, at 5012 N.E. 42nd Ave., in November.

She began her consignment career at Sweet Pea’s in Sellwood, then learned the ropes from the “Godmother of Consignment” herself, Marcee Meijer, at Village Merchants.

Realizing she’d found her passion, the next obvious step was to open a place of her own.

Having opened in 2012, Give & Take is a much-loved and eclectic mix of trinkets, clothing, home goods, kitchenwares, toys, games and kitsch. Take It or Leave It will riff on the same successful formula.

While it was not necessarily her plan to open a second shop, Concordia resident Chelsea was looking to keep her shop manager and stylist topped up with work. Expanding made sense, as they had experienced a profitable year.

“The timing looked right, so we moved on it,” she said.

Through coverage in Concordia News, she became aware of Michael DeMarco and Our 42nd Avenue, and she reached out.

“They’ve been so kind and have really helped us build connections. It’s been very much a hand-holding experience, and we’ve been so supported. I’m grateful.

“We also received funds from an anonymous donor through Our 42nd Avenue, which helped with the transition from rough space to finished store.”

Having a husband in the construction business has helped tremendously, too, and David Swanda of Greylock Construction has spent evenings and weekends readying the space.

With a penchant for baskets, crockery and quirky stuff, Chelsea said she also enjoys bringing a sense of humor to her offerings. “I do kind of live for the oddities,” she laughed.

She recalled a few of those – a taxidermy squirrel, an anatomical teeth model for dental students and a record by Billy Joel’s heavy metal band, Attila, circa 1970.

“Consignment is a community business. It’s a place to find new treasures and a way to keep useful things out of the landfill. It’s also good, affordable fun,” Chelsea pointed out.

“And, at the end of the day, I am proud to be able to make a living from recycling.”

Find her at the new storefront or online at TakeItOrLeaveItPDX.com.

Carrie Wenninger lives on 29th Avenue in Concordia. She is a freelance writer, a mom, a world traveler and a small business marketing consultant. Contact her at WurdGurl@gmail.com.

CNA letter on Neighborhood System Reform

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Uncategorized

See attached for the Concordia Neighborhood Association’s letter to Portland City Council about Neighborhood System Reform, inspired by the 3.96 code update project.

CNA-Neighborhood_System_Comment_Letter-October_3_2019-signed

Draft Agenda for November, 2019 CNA LUTC meeting

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Uncategorized

CNA Voices – Thoughts for Veterans Day

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Opinion

By Steve Elder | CNA Media Team

Veterans Day 2019 will be observed Monday, Nov. 11, and is a federal holiday. This year’s Veterans Day marks the 100th anniversary of the ending of World War I. The holiday was originally known as Armistice Day until World War II, and Korea crowded the calendar.

Veterans Day usually is wrapped around by a three-day weekend – usually glorifying commerce and often doing only lip service to those who were killed, wounded or psychologically impaired in the armed forces during their service. (Disclosure: I spent two years in the Army in the 1960s. I saw no combat and have no PTSD.)

Throughout American history aggressive military force has helped establish our moral position in the world. Our worldly reputation is based on how much we are at war and how much we are at peace.

To maintain our war credibility the administration is currently ginning us up for several new wars, particularly in Venezuela and Iran.

At a recent town hall in Clatsop County, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley was asked what he has done to ensure we engage in diplomacy instead of the use of troops in Venezuela. He spoke of a proposal he had introduced in the Senate which, if enacted, would prevent the president from using armed force in Venezuela.

Not only is the United States ready to attack Venezuela, he said. It is readying us to support more military action in the Middle East. Not seemingly having learned any lessons in Iraq, the administration talks about the threat Iran poses to the United States.

Just in the past few weeks the United States deployed a carrier strike group along with bombers to the Middle East, supposedly to counter possible Iranian threats. A couple of weeks ago, in spite of Congress having voted that the U.S. should not assist in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, another “emergency” was declared by the administration and spending of $8 billion for more guns to Saudi Arabia was authorized.

Miniaturization of the American budget and foreign policy is a bipartisan endeavor. Republicans and Democrats like to claim they are on opposite sides of many issues but, when it comes to militarism, they are on the same side.

Old men and women are sparing no expense, sending young men and women to be killed or wounded. The administration budget request is almost 10% more than the Congress said was needed for military spending.

We have many many things to spend on besides military spending.

Note: CNA respects the views and beliefs of all cultures and faiths. The views expressed by this writer do not necessarily reflect the views of CNA.

Steve Elder, East2@ConcordiaPDX.org, is an inactive lawyer, a developer, activist and old grouch.

RGB is more than just its name

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Garlynn Woodsong | Video Game Enthusiast

Caught in the glow of a video game monitor, Jason and Shira Yovu enjoy their Retro Game Bar as much as their customers. Photo by Chris Baker

It’s no coincidence the acronym for Retro Game Bar is RGB. It describes the red, green and blue connection cables between the collection of vintage gaming consoles and their monitors.

Owners Jason and Shira Yovu opened the bar in May at 6720 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Since then gamers have flocked there to enjoy the collection of 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s cartridges and discs that play on 19 consoles.

“We had to buy more consoles, monitors and equipment to open RGB, and also more games for systems like the Dream Cast that didn’t feature prominently in my personal collection,” Jason explained.

Although the form of entertainment at RGB is relatively rare, he’s no newcomer to food service. This is the fourth establishment in which he’s been involved with startup. One was in Maine, where Jason and Shira met almost 10 years ago.

RGB features the games Jason has collected for more than 15 years. “I wanted the games in my collection to be played, not sitting around collecting dust, to have these games be accessible to everyone,” he said.

During the summer, RGB sponsored special weekend hours for minors. “As of mid-October, our all-ages program is on hiatus,” Shira said. “But we hope to redesign it with more options and bring it back by early 2020.”

One of the pleasures for RGB visitors is the opportunity to play on classic systems like the Turbo Graphics 16 from the late 1980s – far less common than its contemporary, the original SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo systems – as well as a few machines such as a Neo-Geo that were previously coinoperated.

RGB features all original hardware and games, no emulators or replicators. It gives the authentic feel, like a record shop, of using the actual original media. RGB signals are the preferred output from the consoles to the monitors, of course, along with analogue outputs.

“We had to modify some consoles slightly,” Jason pointed out. “That allows them to send the RGB signals for their original full resolution to be displayed on monitors that are much higher resolution than the TVs most people originally played the consoles on.”

RGB serves fare as nostalgic as its games, including themed cocktails and a variety of hot dogs.

Garlynn Woodsong lives on 29th Avenue, serves on the CNA board and is an avid bicyclist. He also is a dad who is passionate about the city his son will inherit. He is the planning + development partner with Cascadia Partners LLC, a local urban planning firm. Contact him at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org.

Students practice neighborliness

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News

By Grace Aklestad | student Concordia University-Portland

Sept. 13 saw 350 Concordia University-Portland volunteers spending 900 hours in service to northeast Portland community organizations. These cheery volunteers helped out at Oregon Food Bank. Photo courtesy of Concordia University-Portland

As a student participating in service leadership at Concordia University-Portland, I found my place on campus, identified a career path of civil service, and am forever changed as an individual, a leader and a global citizen.

Student volunteers seek to build community with and in the immediate Concordia neighborhood, as well as throughout the city.

Our Sept. 13 day of service resulted in 350 volunteers contributing 900 hours throughout northeast Portland with local nonprofit organizations. The effort brought the campus community together, and it helped everyone develop better relations and understanding of the Concordia neighborhood.

University students, faculty and staff cleaned up the communal gathering place of Woodlawn Park, set up for a community powwow with NAYA, packed food for the Oregon Food Bank and helped Faubion School with its picture day.

This is the university’s mission in action: to prepare leaders for the transformation of society.

As a student leader in the Office of Service Leadership, I lead students in weekly service with Night Strike, building relationships with a population experiencing homelessness. Just as people need food and shelter, many are in dire need of a sense of community.

The impact of a game of Uno or sharing a cup of coffee is felt as much as a hot meal or a fresh blanket. The relationships made under the bridge benefit guests of Night Strike, but are even more deeply beneficial to volunteers like myself.

My heart has been forever changed by the people I have met under the bridge. In conversations, I have seen and experienced whole world views shift. This is why CU engages students in service learning: to broaden horizons, understand a variety of life experiences and build supportive communities.

Service at CU is not about changing the community or individuals that comprise it. It is not about the manifestation of our vision in the neighborhoods in which we work.

Service is about using our voices and bodies, as the hands and feet of Christ, to lend help to make changes as the community members see fit.

As a CU student in service, my hope is to interact with community members and help realize the vision they have for improving our community as a whole.

Grace Aklestad is a senior history major from Montana. Upon graduation , sh intends to pursue dual juris doctorate and Arab studies masters degrees.

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater

Posted on November 3, 2019 by Web Manager Posted in Concordia News, Land Use & Transportation

By Garlynn Woodsong | CNA Board Member, SW1 | CNA LUTC Chair

Portland city commissioner Chloe Eudaly ordered the rewrite of city code 3.96, which governs the relationship between the neighborhoods, neighborhood associations, district coalitions, business district associations and elements of the city government.

She expressed a desire to increase equity by reshaping who gets a say in city policy. She feels neighborhood associations too often represent white homeowners and exclude renters, people of color and immigrants.

She believes neighborhoods serve as gatekeepers that stand in the way of denser development and additional affordable housing.

Your Concordia Neighborhood Association board does not disagree with her diagnosis. We feel, however, there are effective solutions to increase participation, ones that don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Fundamentally, we believe there is a place for geographically-based groups in our citywide dialogue. Faith- and ethnicity-based groups alone cannot sustain the robust civic life Portlanders pride ourselves in. This is a city of neighborhoods to celebrate, preserve and enhance.

In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson’s concept of a ward republic – and toward the goal of promoting and enabling more diverse participation in the most local geographic units of our democracy – the CNA board made these recommendations to city council:

  • Elect neighborhood association board members in county-administered general elections. That’s how it works for East Multnomah County Soil and Water Conservation District and circuit court judges. Our local neighborhood associations provide much in the form of community-building activities. They surely are important enough to rate at least this basic level of recognition.
  • Allow individuals to nominate themselves and others for board elections for free.
  • Ensure neighborhood associations reach out to all community-based organizations within their borders to make those groups aware of the opportunity to be elected the neighborhood association boards.
  • Dedicate a meaningful percentage of revenue from on-street parking – both from residential permit programs and from meters – toward neighborhood improvement project programs comanaged by each neighborhood association in partnership with the city and neighborhood coalition offices. This revenue stream could be used in combination with other funding sources to help deliver more livability outcomes in shorter periods of time. Neighbors would help decide where and when to build bulb-outs, place benches, stripe crosswalks, plant trees, place public art, hold events and otherwise help achieve and maintain community livability goals.
  • Head off efforts by some neighborhoods to slow the development of much-needed new homes during our extended housing crisis by the city providing more by-right fastapproval development pathways in all neighborhoods. So, if projects are proposed that meet adopted development and design standards, they can be approved administratively and without the opportunity for delay presented by discretionary review and lengthy public involvement and appeal processes.
  • Protect neighborhood livability from new development – rather than destroy it – by empowering neighborhood associations to work with the city to develop and adopt design standards that work as a part of a citywide form-based code. That will allow each neighborhood to articulate and enforce its own local design character, as long as those regulations don’t impede factors measured by the Buildable Lands Inventory that are related to the ability to provide sufficient development capacity within our urban growth boundary.

Garlynn Woodsong lives on 29th Avenue, serves on the CNA board and is an avid bicyclist. He also is a dad who is passionate about the city his son will inherit. He is the planning + development partner with Cascadia Partners LLC, a local urban planning firm. Contact him at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org.

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