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Gordon’s Fireplace Building, the graffiti-covered ruin perched above Interstate 84 at 33rd Avenue, is set to be sold at a three-day auction starting Oct. 14, according to an offering document from SVN Imbrie Realty and Ten-X.
The building was set to go to action in January, but Robert Boyce, the Seattle-based investor who financed the property before its foreclosure, fought the auction in Multnomah County Circuit Court, arguing that the property should be listed by a commercial broker for nine months to seek a higher price.
Erected in 1918, the building first served as the OK Jeffery Aircraft Factory, producing parts for airplanes during World War I, which ended a year later. In 1990, Gordon’s Fireplace Shop moved in.
Aircraft Factory LLC, backed by Boyce’s Interurban Development, paid $2.7 million for the property in December 2017, 18 months after Gordon’s Fireplace Shop closed.
Starting bid for the building is $225,000, the offering document says.
“The Aircraft Factory, also known as Gordon’s Fireplace Building, is a unique development opportunity at 3300-3324 NE Broadway Street in Portland’s historic Hollywood District,” the offering document says. “The location is highly visible from Interstate 84, providing excellent exposure and easy access to major Portland metro thoroughfares, including just a 15-minute drive to Portland International Airport and Downtown Portland.”
That high-visibility has made the building one of the most maligned in Portland, especially among residents of the Grant Park neighborhood, who write into WW regularly to inquire about its ownership and fate.
The building’s lender, an investment company based in the Cayman Islands, filed for foreclosure in Multnomah County Court in August 2024, citing $4,948,593 in unpaid debts. It sought payment from Boyce, a former partner at Interurban Development, and the guarantor of the debt.
Boyce didn’t immediately return a message sent on LinkedIn seeking comment.
