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Where there was once a two-story building dropping bricks onto the corner of Northeast 28th Avenue and Alberta Street there is now a gaping hole full of debris. Two hefty wooden beams block the Alberta sidewalk, which is fenced, once again, forcing pedestrians into the street.
And the property is likely to stay this way for the foreseeable future. Portland Permitting & Development says the owner has run out of money.
The contractor walked off the job after going unpaid, city spokesman Ken Ray says, leaving an “unsupported basement wall” next to the sidewalk, thereby requiring a fence.
“We are seeking a new code hearing to pursue new civil penalties against the building owner to address the present hazard,” Ray said in an email. “We can pursue foreclosure if penalties are imposed, go unpaid, and other efforts to address the building hazard are unsuccessful.”
While not as prominent as the Gordon’s Fireplace building at 33rd Avenue and Broadway, the property on Alberta is among the most troubled in Northeast Portland. And, like the Gordon’s building, it sits in a high-traffic, high-visibility area. (Disclosure: This reporter owns a home in the surrounding neighborhood.)
The building is owned by DJE Building LLC, an entity connected to Erzsebet Eppley, “who has direct knowledge of the operations and business activities of the company,” according to a document filed with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. Eppley was listed as the custodian for the property until July 15, when she sold it to DJE for $377,620, according to county records.
Eppley returned neither a voicemail nor an email seeking comment.
The building, erected in 1917, was once home to Al Forno Ferruzza, a pizzeria. It dodged foreclosure by the city last July when Eppley sold it to DJE. A wrecking crew arrived in December and began taking down the structure, which had been shedding bricks since 2022.
Workers reduced the building to a hole in the ground, then left it full of bricks, concrete, metal and a wheeled Portland recycling bin. Trash has accumulated along the sidewalk.
The house just south of the crater on 28th Avenue is a ruin, too. The windows are boarded up, and the siding is covered in graffiti. The property is owned by Tillamook Holdings LLC. Eppley is listed as the manager of that LLC in state records.
Property records indicate Eppley and her entities either inherited or bought the properties from her mother and father, Elizabeth and Joseph Boczki, who, according to a paid obituary in The Oregonian, “built a real estate business together over the years in Portland and enjoyed life to the fullest.”
