The construction site at Fourth and Calapooia on Thursday afternoon after the first framing went up.
There’s something new to see at the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Calapooia Street in Albany: vertical construction.
The framing has started going up on Calapooia Commons, the mixed-use housing and commercial project planned on the former site of what had been three very old and neglected houses.
The plans call for construction of two buildings, of three stories each, with commercial space on the bottom and apartments on floors 2 and 3.
The original plans were for a total of eight apartments. But the city building permits say Building 1 has “5 units” and Building 2 has “5 res units.” When I can reach Mark Siegner, the builder, I’ll ask for an update on the number of apartments he’ll put in.
I last wrote about this project when the foundations were poured more than a year ago.
To refresh your memory, here’s a snippet from that story in September 2023:
“In the making since 2018 and located in the Monteith Historic District, the project generated opposition among advocates of historic preservation because it replaces three historic but severely dilapidated houses. Before they were eventually demolished, the city had condemned the houses as dangerous and uninhabitable.”
Now the neighbors — and passersby like me — can watch as something new and useful is being built. ((hh)
These units will be a nice addition – housing plus commercial. Perhaps a small neighborhood convenience store?
Mark and Tina have been abused to no end with this property, as I was going to the Post Office yesterday I saw the work and stopped for a moment to say Hi. I am glad to see positive things happening after all the outrageous claims made by their opposition.
Agreed!
I agree with Rich. We Councilors at the time when they first approached us knew they would build something that would fit in the neighborhood. I am so glad they are finally over the many hurdles they had to endure
It’s great to see a single carpenter building a home old school style .
Actually using a framing hammer rather than a nail gun. A simple quality home or two rather than mass production compared to seventy homes .
It keeps Albany the great old City
In looking at Google Earth views from 2012 (because personal memory couldn’t remember the corner) the original houses didn’t look all that bad. One even had brand new stairs and a porch. Were all 3 owned by the same individual or were they forced out for this new construction? Why must we tear everything down instead of repair what we have? I’ll bet dollars to donuts the new construction has zero curb appeal, is bland and boring, boxy in shape and gets painted gray! Yuck.
You would get a better idea of this project and its background if you read all the stories I’ve done over the years. Use the search function on this site. There also are illustrations of what the place will look like. No reason to say “yuck.”