On Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, I got off the bike at 370 Burkhart St. S.E., where a big, part-underground reservoir has been demolished and the hole has been filled in.
For years a big and abandoned concrete reservoir, once part of the Albany water system, dominated the otherwise empty lot at 370 Burkhart St. S.E. Now the tank is gone, and new owners are talking of developing the lot.
More than a decade ago, a couple out on a walk wondered about that mysterious concrete structure in the back of the lot and asked me about it. That prompted a series of stories. The most recent, in September 2025, summarized the background. If you don’t remember, you can read it here.
On Wednesday I got word from someone with connections in the neighborhood that the tank had been demolished. Today a bike ride took me there.
The property is still owned by Burkhart Investments LLC, which bought the lot from the city in 2021 for $4,000. But the corporation has new members, two men with addresses in Scio.
The city’s online listing of planning and building permits shows a pre-application meeting concerning 370 Burkhart last month.
David Martineau, the manager of current planning, told me that the developer was proposing a three- or four-lot division, but no application has yet been filed.
The lot measures more than 15,000 square feet, so there’s plenty of room for the kind of middle housing that state and local land-use regulations now encourage.
When the city of Albany still owned the lot, officials once estimated that demolishing the concrete tank would cost around $400,000. If and when I reach the new owners, I’ll ask them what it actually cost. (hh)
I’d be very curious about the results of your last paragraph. It makes you wonder if any “officials” in the city actually have any competence. Prime example is the city utility software boondoggle.
Contractors regularly charge more for government projects. They are often required to meet standards such as hiring union workers which can make a project more expensive. There’s usually more ted tape involved too. $400,000 seems like a lot of money. I wonder if there could have been some hazardous materials to mitigate.
Government projects require all contractors to pay “Prevailing Wages” to their workers. The wage is set by BOLI. If you compare the Prevailing Wage with a union contract, say Teamsters or Operating Engineers, you will see that the prevailing wage is the union wage. So, when a non-union contractor bids on a government project (over $25,000 I think), they must factor in the higher labor costs.
There is a bill in Salem to remove the Prevailing Wage requirement from public affordable housing. “Affordable Housing” would be more affordable if the government didn’t require contractors to pay higher costs.
Hasso, you said two new members, who are the old members. I do not think I ever heard who they were.
The lot was just listed for sale. $284,000!