Prologis Teardown of Northeast Portland’s Burnt-Out Kmart Starts This Week

The demolition will take about six weeks, Prologis says.

K Mart (Ted Timmons)
By Anthony Effinger

The sprawling Kmart on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, scene of a massive fire in July, will be torn down starting Sept. 5, according to a notice sent to neighbors by Prologis, the company that wants to build a shipping warehouse on the site.

The demolition will take about six weeks, Prologis says. “Experienced, licensed professionals will be handling the demolition process and appropriate steps will be taken to minimize inconvenience to the community,” Prologis wrote in the notice.

The 118,000-square-foot store opened in 1971 and closed in 2018, when Sears Holdings, the owner at the time, shuttered dozens of underperforming stores across the country. It became an ignominious landmark of sorts in August 2021 when the far-right Proud Boys gathered in the vast parking lot and fought anti-fascists with baseball bats and paintball guns.

Now, Argay Terrace residents oppose Prologis’ plans to build a freight warehouse on the site.

Neighbors amped up their dispute with Prologis after a fire gutted the building July 19, raining chunks of blackened insulation on lawns, parks and schoolyards. A week later, a neighbor filed a class action lawsuit against the owner of the property and the company that leases it. Environmental consultants are testing the remains of the building for asbestos, lead paint and PCBs, says the plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Fuller.

Prologis didn’t return an email seeking more details about the demolition.

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