Apartment Search NW/SW (Portland, Beaverton: apartment complex, renter, condos)

[aly2004aly]

Hello, yet another "help me find a rental!" question. I'm going to be a medical resident at OHSU starting this summer and my fiance and I are coming to Portland soon to look for housing. We're only going to have 3 days to sign a lease, so the more you can help us narrow it down, the better! We'd like a one bedroom place (apartment, condo, townhouse, what-have-you) either in the NW or SW so we can avoid bridge traffic- he'll likely be working downtown, and I'll be up on the Hill. We're coming from Ohio, so it would be nice to switch it up and enjoy a more young, urban-feeling pneighborhood. We need a dishwasher and a washer/dryer in unit, and preferably a kitty-friendly place for future pet ownership. We'd like to pay less than $1500 per month.

Thanks for your help!

[Nell Plotts]

Warning, I have not been a renter for 50 years, and I have no personal experience with the places I suggest you look. I just know the west side very well.

Here is a property management firm that focuses on well located, evidently nice, vintage properties. The caveat here is that they probably don't offer in unit washer/dryers but who knows: KBC Management manages unique rental properties in Portland Oregon

There are rentals in the South Waterfront neighborhood that would work well for you. That neighborhood was designed to meet the needs of 'Pill Hill', aka OHSU. There is a tram to Pill Hill and a streetcar line that goes down town. Here are a rental buildings in that development: The Ardea - Portland, Oregon's South Waterfront apartment living The Matisse, 0677 SW Lowell Street, Portland, OR - Photo Gallery As a practical matter an apartment anywhere from around Portland State to John's Landing would be OK. Along the river from RiverPlace to John's landing is flat, you can bike to the tram in minutes.

If you search Craigslist and use "OHSU" as a search term you may find that the housing is not as convenient to the Hill as you would like, similarly many landlords use "NW" to include apartments closer to Beaverton. Those criteria are very popular, landlords want as many eyes as possible on their listings.

Keep in mind that parking may be extra in urban buildings.

[philwithbeard]

I will send you a private message on the details of a place I visited a few months back.

I don't recommend, nor suggest you avoid it. But just for your consideration. Look up the address on Google Maps with Satellite view.

It is a large apartment complex off SW Vermont St in the Hillsdale Neighborhood of Portland. It is 'burb living, and you must have a car. Mass Transit is limited, but you can drive down the hill, park on the street by the Well Fargo and Fred Meyer's (Kroger by another name) and catch the #12 bus downtown. In theory, there are a few other bus options, but you will be living on a 5 degree slope or there abouts; "up hill, BOTH WAYS" as the famous line goes. But you can get the appliances you want in the apartment if you ask (for a higher rent) plus small pet (with much higher deposit.) NOT URBAN, more suburban.

[davemess10]

For up to $1500, you have a LOT of options. Easiest commute is the South water front. It's not totally happening yet, but may be in 10 years (which won't help you). Down around PSU there are lots of housing options, some more upscale than the undergrads can afford. The NW and Pearl aren't horrible options, as you can bike/walk/bus/streetcar pretty easily over to campus.

I wouldn't completely rule out the East side of the river. I decided i wanted to be on the West side my first year at OHSU and am now committed to moving to the east side in a few months. The bridges aren't too backed up (avoiding I-5), and they have good bike access. And you might have a slightly longer commute from the East side, but the if you're going by bike the hills will even it out if you live in the SW.

how do you plan on getting to campus? Transit, bike, or *gasp* drive? That can affect things plenty.
If you're really looking for more of an urban feel, I would definitely avoid anything south of campus on the west side (so Hillsdale would def. be out). Sounds to me like you kind of want to live in the Pearl, and I think you might be able to find a few places around there at your price.

Good luck.

[Nell Plotts]

Here is another building in the South Waterfront development to consider: Riva on the park: 0650 SW Gaines Street, Portland, OR 97239 503.274.2300

[aly2004aly]

Thanks for the replies so far! We will both have cars, and I will probably drive to campus because I will have very irregular hours. But we'd love a public transportation option (shouldn't be hard for fiance to make that work daily), and I do have experience with Tri-Met and the Max (stayed around 57th and Sandy for a month last summer). I've been doing a little more research about the neighborhoods- what do you all think about Goose Hollow?

[khyron]

Originally Posted by aly2004aly

Thanks for the replies so far! We will both have cars, and I will probably drive to campus because I will have very irregular hours. But we'd love a public transportation option (shouldn't be hard for fiance to make that work daily), and I do have experience with Tri-Met and the Max (stayed around 57th and Sandy for a month last summer).

Just in case a resident comes across this thread in the future, I want to underscore the importance of knowing this, good job figuring this out early in your hunt!

Folks outside the medical field will jump all over recommending the South Waterfront to anyone who puts "OHSU" in a post, however residents and fellows (and many other kinds of physicians, for example anyone who works in the ER) should be aware that the Aerial Tram, while it looks cool, is completely useless to quite a lot of OHSU employees because its extremely thin operating hours are fundamentally incompatible with how hospital shifts work.

The #8 bus has considerably longer hours, and while it's not ideal for every shift possibility it has much more overall utility for residents. For example, if you lived near the #8 route you could at least take the bus on some days for some shifts (whereas the tram is almost never an option). The folks who recommend South Waterfront often don't realize this.

My wife is a fellow starting this summer and we're actually ignoring the South Waterfront because it's desolate, generally overpriced, and actually harder for her to commute to OHSU from than, say, the South Park Blocks or other spots along the #8 route.

It's really sad that the Aerial Tram hours are so worthless, because if it had more utility for a majority of OHSU folks (instead of just patients, students, and certain specialists who work short days) then the entire South Waterfront would be a much more interesting place and the planned walking bridge would also be opening up Lair Hill as another great option for health care workers.

[davemess10]

So won't the new bridge help? That should make getting to OHSU without the tram significantly easier (as long as you don't mind a little bit of a walk). In an ideal world it would be nice for them to run the tram constantly, but that's 3 people they have to have working all the time. I've been on cars at 6:30PM that have 3-4 passengers. Just doesn't make a ton of sense to keep the thing running for a few people (and yes, the majority of people that need to use the tram are using it during general "normal" hours, so I would say it does work for a "majority" of OHSU folks.

OP, Goose Hollow is one the best locations for OHSU in my opinion. It's where we originally wanted to be, until we figured out there was no way we could afford it.

I'm sure someone has warned you about the steep OHSU parking rates. Two cars in downtown area will cost you a good bit for parking as well, so keep that in mind when looking at places.

[Nell Plotts]

Ah, a two car household. When you work downtown transit is a viable option. If they look north of about Lovejoy and west of 24th they should be able to find adequate parking, the bus route that goes down NW 23rd & up Thurman runs frequently, yet be in the cafe culture. Many of the buildings are older, verify laundry facilities.

The Goosehollow has a resident street parking permit system which works well for us. We buy an annual permit from the city which is placed on the back window. Finding a spot is often a scramble but most drivers leave by 8 am and return about 5 pm. The only time it has been a real challenge is when the Garden Club has an event (evenings and Satruday afternoons) but in the future some attending soccer games may try to park here (and receive a ticket because parking is limited to 2 hours without that precious sticker).

With two cars I don't recommend the Pearl because of the expense. In that neighborhood monthly parking may be available in the Smart garage near the train station and under the Lovejoy ramp.

KBC Properties may be a good place for them to start. Most of the other buildings are individually owned so Craigslist is the go-to place. The NobHill building seems to have a lot of vacancies for a building of its size. The UpTown condos have access issues IMHO (very steep driveway).

[hamellr]

Just to reiterate and state a little better, you will HAVE to use Public Transportation to work on the Hill at OHSU. Parking up there has always been an issue and while it has gotten better over the years, still not that great.

I would personally stay away from KBC - they don't have that great of a reputation as a property management company: Kbc Management - Portland

I also interviewed with them about a year ago for an IT position and saw quite a few red flags during the interviews..