In summer 2026, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners adopted a balanced $4 billion budget. It included a budget note requesting a proposal to add enhancements to the street-cleaning corridor along the City of Portland's portion of 82nd Avenue. The proposal was due by October 15th, and Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards' office says the District 3 representative will bring forward a budget modification at the…

From time to time, we hear about bear sightings in Portland’s Forest Park—but bears in Montavilla? That is what the Oregon Journal of October 9, 1920 reported. The story was based on the recollections of an unnamed man who had lived in what is now Montavilla since 1860. That is 29 years before the earliest Mount Tabor Villa lots went on the market, and the birth of the neighborhood officially began.

Renewable energy specialists are installing a new solar panel array on the grassy, sloped southern edge of a former landfill along NE 82nd Avenue, now owned by Bird Alliance of Oregon. Once complete, the community solar array will reduce utility costs for 140 low-income Portlanders through a collaboration with APANO, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and other partners. The new energy source at…

Earlier this month, people raised concerns about boarded-up windows at Ya Hala's 8005 SE Stark Street. However, the wood coverings were part of an effort to replace the single-pane glass with energy-efficient glazing at the neighborhood restaurant. The grant-supported window work is part of a broader investment by the multi-location business, including expanding Ya Hala-branded grab-and-go products available post-security at…

Heavy equipment is on-site at SE 89th Avenue, north of Brooklyn Street, grading the former gravel road ahead of crews laying asphalt. This segment of city street was never paved in its over 100 years of existence, connecting to SE 90th Place. Now a 40-unit complex at 2905 SE 89th Avenue is nearing completion, and contractors with that project will create a modern street on the west side of the road with a sidewalk buffered by a curbside planting strip.

On October 1st, APANO Communities United Fund will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. to gather Jade District residents' perspectives on access to green space. Participants attending the drop-in gathering within the community room at 8118 SE Division Street will join a focused conversation about a roughly 1.5-acre property owned by Metro on the southeast corner of SE 89th Avenue and 90th Place.

Portland is recognized as a bikeable city that invests in infrastructure that makes this transportation and recreation activity more accessible to new or vulnerable riders. On Wednesday, September 30th, the New to Portland 2026 Rides series will gather in the Montavilla Plaza at SE 79th Avenue and SE Stark Street for a 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. moderate-paced 6- to 8-mile bicycle ride…

7123 NE Glisan Street began as the Shreiner bakery 7123 NE Glisan St reconstruction in progress (Jacob Loeb) 7123 NE Glisan St before reconstruction (Jacob Loeb) This two-story building on the north side of Glisan Street is being transformed. Crews built the wood-frame 7123 NE Glisan Street storefront for John Shreiner’s business in 1912. Born in Indianapolis in 1854, this son of German immigrants settled in Portland around 1896.

On September 10th, the public and private organizations responsible for creating the Legin Commons apartment building at 7755 SE Division Street celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Soon, new residents will begin moving into 124 new regulated affordable homes on Portland Community College’s (PCC) Southeast campus, prioritizing families with children and low-income households. The new four-story building sits on the site of a former Kaiser Permanente one-story medical clinic built in 1964.

As residents begin moving into the recently completed Legin Commons apartments, road crews prepare to add an enhanced pedestrian crossing at the adjacent intersection of SE Division Street and SE 77th Avenue. Contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will construct new curb ramps at the northwest and southwest corners, leading to a new concrete median island placed along a painted, high-visibility crosswalk.

Mt. Tabor CrossFit at 8028 NE Glisan Street sold to new owners Lindsey Overbay and Ryder Williams in mid-June 2026 and changed its name to Iron Keep Fitness. At the same time, the gym relocated less than a mile north to 2310 NE 82nd Avenue across from the Leodis V. McDaniel High School athletics field. Despite the changes, the organization retained most of the coaches and the people who use this fitness community for their regular workout routines.

Amaye International Restaurant celebrated the opening of its second location serving Somali food in July. The larger space at 10114 SE Division Street made room for its growing success as a community dining destination. A month later, they closed the original space at 8000 NE Glisan Street for renovations. At 5 p.m. on September 4th, the corner space on NE Glisan will officially welcome…

Montavilla Jazz is back this weekend for a three-day, village-style festival spanning locations inside and beyond the neighborhood. Over the Labor Day Weekend, the 13th Annual Montavilla Jazz Festival celebrates Portland’s music scene between September 4th and 6th. Montavillajazz.org has a detailed schedule of ticketed and wristband-accessed performances. However, many Montavilla locations will present live music featuring student, youth, and emerging artists as official Village Stage hosts.

This week, crews with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will continue road work that began on August 19 along NE Glisan Street between NE 82nd and NE 92nd avenues. Drivers in the area are encountering new traffic patterns and slower speeds as re-striping teams add painted bike lanes on completed segments of the project site and new signage arrives from NE 81st to NE 92nd Avenues.

In 1915, veteran journalist James Irving Crabbe (1845-1922) saw a new opportunity. He'd been living in Montavilla for about a year on NE 74th and had a chance to engage with a community bent on improvement. Through group effort, Montavillans had gained a stable water supply and a local fire station. Most streets had been graded—if not paved—and most had concrete sidewalks.

On August 30th, My Voice Music (MVM) and Ascending Flow will host a Block Party with live youth music, DJs, and skateboarding to introduce the BUS-A-Flow mobile studio. The MVM youth-focused nonprofit organization opened its Montavilla facility at 8911 SE Stark Street in September 2023. Recently, muralists completed work on the outside of the building, highlighting this music-based after-school program provider's activities within.

The 10th Jade International Night Market is this Saturday, August 29th, from 4 to 10 p.m. within the Portland Community College's Southeast campus at 2305 SE 82nd Avenue. Since 2014, this evening event has offered food, entertainment, and vendor booths from area groups while providing a space for the community to gather and celebrate the people who make up the multicultural district.

In 2025, Burger King set out to remodel 400 of its U.S. restaurants as part of a multi-year plan to modernize its franchise network. Those efforts may soon include the Mall 205-adjacent fast-food location at 10010 SE Stark Street, where Land Use Review 26-056462 seeks to update the location inside and out. All this comes as CNBC reports the brand recently overtook Wendy’s as the nation’s second-largest burger chain…

The owners of Portland Tool Peddler recently completed the move of their five-year-old tool repair business from SE 64th Avenue and Powell Boulevard to 7115 NE Glisan Street. Cindy Chambers Moreno and Matt Moreno formed the company in 2021 after Matt left O'Neills Tools & Equipment which was once located on the same block as their new storefront. The family-run shop services a wide range of power tools and is one of the only authorized repair centers in the area for many well-known manufacturers.

Road crews will begin repaving NE Glisan Street between NE 82nd and NE 92nd avenues on Wednesday, August 19th. The approximately two-lane-miles of resurfacing work will take an estimated twelve business days to complete as heavy equipment grinds off the damaged top layer of asphalt and lays down a fresh mixture of crushed stone and bitumen. The Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) re-striping plans will create a paint-buffered bike lane next to a single travel lane in each direction and recreate the center turn lane.

Work is underway on a housing development at 3128 SE 90th Place, where a local builder will create nine new homes behind the existing 1927-era house. It features four duplex structures and one detached home, accessed from a long private roadway along the northern edge of the lot. Each of the around 1,700-square-foot homes will stand three stories tall to allow space for attached garages and four bedrooms.

After nearly two years closed for renovations, the Belmont Library at 1038 SE Cesar Estrada Chavez Boulevard reopens for a weekend celebration. People can attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 15th, and then enter the building starting at 10 a.m. for two days of activities highlighting the new facilities and amenities. This Multnomah County library features fabric artwork mimicking large-scale pages torn from a spiral notebook created by Britt Howard with…

On Saturday, August 15th, the PDX Adult Soapbox Derby returns for its 27th year of gravity-induced fun. Starting at 10 a.m., people will gather for this free event along SE Reservoir Loop Drive and at locations around the Mt. Tabor Park course to watch contestants roll down the extinct urban volcano at increasing speed. Over 150 volunteers will assist racers and attendees on the derby day until the event concludes at 4 p.m.

On Tuesday, August 11, and Wednesday, August 12, road crews will close the Interstate-84 Entrance and Eastbound traffic on the overpass above NE 82nd Ave and I-84 for microsurfacing work. Contractors working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will apply a fast‑curing asphalt treatment to the road surface, filling minor ruts and improving the pavement’s condition. During the application process, motorists will need to use temporary detours.

Crews recently cleared an overgrown parcel where a fire-damaged house at 2826 SE 87th Avenue had caused years of concern for neighbors who witnessed repeated illegal dumping on the property. The 95-by-180-foot lot is slated to support 10 new townhomes, offering future residents just under 1,000 square feet of living space across two floors. This development abuts the back of the three-story…

On Tuesday, August 4th, Portland Water Bureau began adding groundwater from the Columbia South Shore Well Field to the city’s Bull Run-sourced drinking water. Officials are making this change to test well equipment ahead of a likely seasonal need to supplement the water supply. Repeated activations, lasting around 10 hours, ensure crews can repair any deficient equipment before lowering reservoir levels or an emergency triggers a demand for well water.

The Montavilla Farmers’ Market began in 2007, but this is not Montavilla’s first such market. The earliest one opened in a nearby location on July 7, 1914. Back then—whether large or small—such markets were called public markets. But the economics were similar: farmers sold directly to their customers rather than to a middleman. That meant better profits for farmers and better prices for customers.

Construction fencing surrounds a 1962-era single-story home at 3326 SE 89th Avenue ahead of demolition that makes way for a new 31-unit affordable housing project called Alyssa Daye Gardens. The 32,500-square-foot, four-story wood-framed structure will offer affordable housing with ground-floor common spaces and support services. The project is led by the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon, working under the name The Peer Company, which operates its Portland Recovery Campus next door to the site at…

This year, deconstruction crews mostly demolished the former Burgerville location at 3504 SE 92nd Avenue, leaving just one wall standing. They proceeded to construct a practically new fast-food restaurant with a drive-through around that wall. This process of leaving minimal structure allowed the project to file for permits as a remodel project, rather than a new development, and to bypass a…

Crews recently prepared concrete forms in the center turn lane of SE Division Street at SE 64th Avenue. This work replaces a temporary pedestrian island installed in 2024 at a high-visibility enhanced crosswalk that connects to a Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) created paved bike path and pedestrian access way leading to Mt. Tabor Park. Cement masons will next pour concrete to create the raised protective infrastructure and construct a level pedestrian holding area at street level.

For sixteen years, the Landmark Saloon served the community below the western base of Mt Tabor at 4847 SE Division Street before closing on February 13th. Regulars at that establishment, Graham Talley and Scott Phillips, feared the loss of an affordable community gathering space in an area undergoing significant redevelopment. They took over the lease of the converted 1906-era house and brought on Nick Wilson, who previously owned the Landmark, to guide them as they spruced up the place.

On Sunday, July 26th, the Montavilla East Tabor Business Association (METBA) will host the 13th annual Street Fair on SE Stark Street. Early that morning, crews will close the road from SE 82nd to 76th Avenues, along with segments of side streets, to allow the 150 booth operators to set up ahead of the 10 a.m. opening. Vendors will sell a variety of items, including food and drinks, unique artwork, handcrafted goods, and clothing.

Nick Zarate, working under the barber's moniker Zarateblendz, recently opened his first shop in a converted shipping container south of 817 SE 82nd Avenue. FadeBox PDX has room to support four haircutting stations within a long, brightly lit space that, when combined with the many ring lights, entices customers to feel like they are on-set, readying for the camera.

The 82nd Avenue Area TIF Community Leadership Committee is midway through a four-month focused exploration of affordable housing priorities to include in the new East Portland Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Action Plan. Portland requires 45 percent of TIF funds to support affordable housing through a variety of established and emerging programs administered by the Portland Housing Bureau. The previous TIF community exploration work that led to the district's…

Contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) began intermittent night painting on NE Halsey Street between NE Jonesmore Street and NE 92nd Avenue the week of July 13th. Crews will use a blowtorch to adhere the green and white bike lane markings needed to activate the new raised concrete protected cycling path. PBOT says drivers should not encounter changes to travel patterns or restricted driveway access during the work, and that the work will not extend through the entire night.

On Saturday, July 11th, Montavilla Brew Works will host an eleven-year all-ages celebration event featuring special beer releases, food from Oi! The Sausage, and music provided by DJ MD. Melissa and Michael Kora opened Montavilla Brew Works at 7805 SE Stark Street on July 15th, 2015, and started using the annual celebration of that event to host a summertime gathering.

Road Crews will shut down eastbound NE Halsey Street over Interstate 84 and NE 82nd Avenue from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8th, and Thursday, July 9th. At the same time, vehicles will need to detour around a closure on westbound NE Jonesmore Street between NE Halsey and 82nd Avenue. Workers will shut down a traffic signal for updates, including pavement marking specialists removing and replacing lane striping at the NE Jonesmore and Halsey Street intersection.

In 1911, Montavilla held its first "safe and sane" Independence Day celebration. In that year, Portland joined the national effort to reduce July Fourth deaths and injuries—to both adults and children--caused by various types of pyrotechnics. In 1903, when the national campaign began, Independence Day celebrations across the country resulted in 466 deaths and 4,449 injuries. As “safe and sane” policies were adopted city after city and as safer activities replaced dangerous ones, injuries and deaths began to fall.

Portland City Council permanently banned the sale and use of all consumer fireworks within city limits in March 2022. This restriction includes Independence Day celebrations, often occurring during hot and dry weather. The ban also prohibits the purchase of personal fireworks outside the City and returning to Portland to use them, so Portland Fire & Rescue (PP&R) encourages people to attend the professional July 4th fireworks displays presented throughout the region.

SE 78th Avenue is closed to through traffic due to fallen tree limbs between SE Stark and Washington Streets. The large tree branches, which accounted for nearly 50% of the tree's mass, fell across the roadway on June 30th, blocking traffic and lying across two vehicles. No significant damage or injury occurred. A Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry representative has arrived at the site.

G&G Development Group, working under the name Timberline Development, recently received partial approval for zoning code compliance adjustments requested for its cottage cluster project at 305 SE 75th Avenue. The developer will add a pair of detached two-level homes behind the existing 1950-era single-story house. Demolition crews will raze a detached garage connected to the original house by a breezeway to make room for one of the two new units facing SE Pine Street.

On June 25th, the Portland City Council passed new rules governing portable signs placed on city sidewalks. Previous legislation from 25 years ago required businesses that placed sandwich boards and a-frame signs in front of their establishments to pay an annual fee, last set at $114. According to city officials, the cost of the complaint-based enforcement program exceeded the income raised by fees, meaning this removal unburdens businesses that had been paying for these types of signs and could save the city money by not investigating unregistered boards.

In the latter half of June, road crews reopened NE Halsey Street to bidirectional automotive traffic after months of work creating a new mini-roundabout near Interstate 84 and NE 82nd Avenue. Additionally, drivers regained full use of NE 80th and NE 81st avenues at the worksite intersections. Starting on February 16th, westbound motorists on NE Halsey Street were prevented from fully crossing the I-84 overpass as cement masons created the second half of a new mini-roundabout and other contractors built additional street improvements.

Vestal Elementary School at 161 NE 82nd Avenue is several feet shorter after crews began work on a roof-replacement project that includes removing its decommissioned boiler brick chimney. The $3.6 million project includes updates to fall protection equipment, roof lighting, mechanical systems, and some seismic improvements to select unreinforced masonry walls in the building. Demolition crews have removed most of the square brick chimney atop the Portland Public School (PPS) building, sending debris down the black plastic chute affixed to the scaffolding erected around the once-towering structure.

On June 6th, the White Lotus Summer Market began its four-weekend-long event featuring food, culture, and community behind the Fubonn Shopping Center at 2850 SE 82nd Avenue. Every Saturday and Sunday in June from 2 to 10 p.m., the over 40 vendors invite people to experience the outdoor market bringing together local vendors, cultural energy, and a community atmosphere.

On Monday, June 22nd, Portland Parks & Recreation's (PP&R) Free Lunch + Play program returns to Montavilla Park on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free lunch from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. for youth 18 years or younger. For many children, school offers activities and services that extend beyond education. Some students rely on school as their only structured playtime with peers and depend on the free lunch program for a midday meal.

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) launched a pilot express shuttle service this summer to help people from all over the city reach Forest Park and Washington Park. Shuttle buses operate on a regular Friday and Saturday schedule with stops extending into neighborhoods within East, North, and Northeast Portland. Park officials hope this program will allow more people to connect with the vast park resources on the west side of the City.

Drivers on SE Thorburn Street merging into SE Washington Street up to I-205 will see a new 25 miles per hour (mph) speed limit. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) reduced speeds on the roadway from 30 mph in June as its contractors began work creating approximately 355 feet of new sidewalk on the north side of SE Thorburn Street, between SE 73rd Avenue and SE 74th Avenue, filling a sidewalk gap.