Can anyone identify this neighborhood? (Portland, Green: renter, crime, houses)

[EagleCam]

Hi all,
My husband has accepted a job with the Federal Gov't in the downtown Portland area. We are searching for rental houses and have one in mind that appears northeast of downtown. The house is between NE South Shore Road to the north and NE Gertz Road to the south. It is very close to the Columbia Children's Arboretum and the Columbia Edgewater Golf Club is to the east. Any ideas of the name of this area? It is approx. 3 miles from PDX so noise from approaching flights might be a problem. Also, my husband hopes to take MAX to work each day. It appears that both the yellow and red MAX lines serve this area. Any thoughts and information on this area would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Go to Googlemaps and type in the address, go to street view and take a look at the property.
You can also go to the link below for all kinds of information on the property, including crime statistics and aerial photos, it's all public access.
GIS Mapping : Portland Development Commission

[Nell Plotts]

As a retired former Fed, welcome to Portland.

[philwithbeard]

That appears to be the city of Portland East Columbia neighborhood.
East Columbia Neighborhood Association

Also, you seem to be at the end of bus line #8. Bus line #8 is one of the main bus routes going to Downtown and then up to the top of "Pill Hill" were a couple of large hospitals are on top of a large ridge (about 700 ft high above the rest of downtown Portland,) But yes, the Yellow line MAX would be faster, its just getting to one of the few MAX stops from the area where you are looking at a home. Forget about joining up with Red, Blue, Green lines at the Lloyd Center, stay on bus #8 for a faster trip across the Willamette river.
TriMet: Public Transportation for the Portland, Oregon, Metro Area

[EnricoV]

It's an unusual area, and pretty remote from things. But it's a lovely area, IMO. West of the Arboretum (which I didn't even know was there!) and to the south, along Columbia Boulevard, is very industrial. To the east, is what I think might be the least desirable aspect. But ... it's across the slough, and there's not easy access back and forth. To the east of the slough, is not only the airport, but Inverness Jail and Dignity Village. The Jantzen Beach area would be your nearest services -- grocery store, shopping center, etc.

It is in the area that was Vanport, a city built up by/for incoming shipyard workers during WWII. Until the levee broke, and it flooded. After the floods, the area was not rebuilt. So not a lot of housing. Like I said, more industrial, etc. And farms. But that area, around the Columbia-Edgewater, is really pretty. Lots of trees, etc. And lots of large recreational type venues -- Portland International Raceway is just west of I-5; Portland Meadows (racetrack) just east of I-5. Lots of Parks, bike paths, etc., beaches along the Columbia.

MAX's Yellow Line would be the line you'd want to use. Doesn't look like the bus comes to close to the houses, though. There is a "Marine Drive Shuttle" that runs to the west of the Arboretum, and will take you to the Expo Center, where you can catch MAX.

[Nell Plotts]

I can't speak to airport noise but there is a reason why most of the marinas in that area are covered: fuel particulates from aircraft. You might want to give that property a white glove check.

[BLev555]

EnricoV is right about the area: it's very industrial. There has also been a lot of newer development around there, I believe it's a lower income residential area (don't attack me if I'm wrong). I have a friend who lives in John's Landing so to get to his house I drive that route a lot. There is a guy in the area who sells vacuum cleaners in his front lawn. Cracks me up. Everyday, rain or shine, there's like 700 vacuum cleaners on this guy's front lawn. It's very odd. But just another reason Portland is so damn quirky. I giggle every time I drive by that guy's house.

[Nell Plotts]

Most of you are far too young to remember when NW Portland was quirky and had a lot of industrial (light industrial/commercial) streets. It was a working class neighborhood of European refugees after WWII, in fact John Reed of Red's fame lived nearby. At Chapman I had classmates whose parents owned Oregon's major businesses, and others who would not throw away a piece of burned toast.

I don't have an issue with a neighborhood with those characteristics. In this case the home-site may be great for the use and time-frame the renter needs the home.