A Prime Spot in Southwest Portland Lies Fallow

ADDRESS: 1541 SW Market St.

YEAR BUILT: 1964

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 13,000 (land), 2,625 (office space)

MARKET VALUE: $1.895 million

OWNER: Market Street Holdings LLC

HOW LONG IT’S BEEN EMPTY: Unclear

WHY IT’S EMPTY: Family curse?

It’s pretty obvious what should be happening at 1541 SW Market St.: The rectangular property is surrounded on three sides by multifamily housing.

What is happening: very little. Even before the pandemic, the owner, Market Street Holdings LLC, fell behind on its property taxes, and now the tab for back taxes on the address, which comprises two tax lots, is $83,223, nearly five years’ worth of payments.

Lane Lowry, the registered agent for the property’s owner, describes himself on LinkedIn as a “32-year real estate entrepreneur and consultant providing creative techniques to maximize real estate project returns.” Lowry did not return calls seeking comment.

But the returns on the property, which is just short walk from Lincoln High School and the Multnomah Athletic Club, so far look pretty lousy.

Records show that Market Street Holdings bought the property in August 2018 for $1.001 million and borrowed $1.375 million against it. One explanation for the difference is that the new owner wanted to use the difference for pre-development work.

But the single-story medical office building that was there then is still there now, covered in graffiti and bearing evidence of freeloading guests, who have breached the security fence around the property. A forlorn baby pool filled with rain and an eclectic assortment of trash is the only sign of recent life. (Records show four nuisance complaints were filed against the property last year.)

The building’s sad present echoes its sad past. In 2017, records show, the building’s then-owner, a Lake Oswego engineer named Dan Kovtynovich, died suddenly. He’d inherited the property from his father and built a successful business but died without a will. Under Oregon law, his two sisters, who lived in California and Washington, stood to inherit his estate, which included several other properties. They did so, but only after withstanding an impassioned appeal from other relatives who felt they were owed part of Kovtynovich’s estate.

But after years of inaction, there may finally be progress: Records show Market Street Holdings applied for a demolition permit Feb. 8.

Every week, WW examines one mysteriously vacant property in the city of Portland, explains why it’s empty, and considers what might arrive there next. Send addresses to newstips@wweek.com.