Looking for unique and historic apt buildings (Portland: leasing, houses)

[Nell Plotts]

I know the neighborhood very well. To say parking is a challenge is to describe it mildly. Excellent bus service. There is a nice park 1 block to the east (the red brick building that you can see a part of is a school). It is very close to several large places of worship. You can literally crawl to several taverns. A couple blocks from Trader Joe's.

I don't know anyone who has lived in the building in recent history. My click-troughs for that building do not indicate that they accommodate dogs or cats.

[hamellr]

There are a ton of older Apartment buildings close in on East side of Burnside. The place I used to live at on NE17th was built in the 1920s, possibly early 30s and is run by American Property Management - who are one of the larger realtors in town. That building style has several duplicates around, so while not "unique," they are at least interesting to live in.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Those kind of wraps are addressing building envelope issues.

Yeah, I didn't mean the interior. Interiors are cosmetic, not to mention more within my control (as a renter). I'd worry more that the building itself was kept up well.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by lookinforhorseparadise

Funny, I was just looking at that company's inventory last night. There are a *few* of their properties that accept dogs, more that take cats. I find that weird because I used to own 3 homes and the worst damage post tenant ever was done by cat pee....we literally had to rip out a floor down to the joists. So in my mind as a landlord I would take a dog rather than a improperly cared for cat. Some cats do have behavior issues with spraying, or sometimes they reject the litter box if the owner is too lazy to keep it adequately cleaned. Of course there are bad dog owners out there as well, not trying to alienate the cat folks just saying I don't understand why allow one but not the other.
Some of those have no vacancies immediately, but I can get on a wait list. Also there is one in the St. Francis that is available....it is a "double studio" ....I am not sure exactly what a double studio comprises? Is it literally 2 studios? LINK: KBC Management manages unique rental properties in Portland Oregon
Can anyone tell me any firsthand knowledge about the St. Francis?

I pass by the St Francis many times different occasions on the way home from the medical complex at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center my "home away from home" where I go for frequent medical treatment. LOL.

I have seen that building go from looking pretty run down to being renovated at least on the outside. The glass windows always intrigued me. They look like nice sunrooms. Other than that I don't know anything about the building. The neighborhood is very convenient to everything including a bus line.

I am a cat person BTW, and you have not alienated me. What you say is true. People often do not bother to train or take care of their kitties properly. I dislike that too. A well behaved pet, be it cat, dog bird or iguana should be welcome in any situation. Personally, I would take them any day over destructive untrained kids. Now I have probably alienated kid-owners.

[lookinforhorseparadise]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

I know the neighborhood very well. To say parking is a challenge is to describe it mildly. Excellent bus service. There is a nice park 1 block to the east (the red brick building that you can see a part of is a school). It is very close to several large places of worship. You can literally crawl to several taverns. A couple blocks from Trader Joe's.

I don't know anyone who has lived in the building in recent history. My click-troughs for that building do not indicate that they accommodate dogs or cats.

Well, I gave up driving so I won't be facing the daily parking roulette. Being strictly a pedestrian, I am trying to find a location like this where I can walk to a lot, especially the grocery stores. I know Trader Joe's is a national chain, but I do admit I like their stores. For those of you who are carless, using the bus while pulling a cart full of groceries can be a big hassle, especially when the bus is crowded. My cart in DC eventually suffered a broken axle from being too heavily loaded as I went up and down the bus stairs. So it is really nice to just roll up the street a few blocks whenever you need groceries. Ha, too bad I don't drink much these days or I would be a regular at those taverns.

[lookinforhorseparadise]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I pass by the St Francis many times different occasions on the way home from the medical complex at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center my "home away from home" where I go for frequent medical treatment. LOL.

I have seen that building go from looking pretty run down to being renovated at least on the outside. The glass windows always intrigued me. They look like nice sunrooms. Other than that I don't know anything about the building. The neighborhood is very convenient to everything including a bus line.

I am a cat person BTW, and you have not alienated me. What you say is true. People often do not bother to train or take care of their kitties properly. I dislike that too. A well behaved pet, be it cat, dog bird or iguana should be welcome in any situation. Personally, I would take them any day over destructive untrained kids. Now I have probably alienated kid-owners.

No problem, not a kid owner lol and I concur. Yes, I liked the look of the sun rooms because in the past I have always had lots of plants....what remains of my formerly large collection may well be gifted to my neighbors here because they may not survive a red hot cross country journey in a moving van. Speaking of cats, I came across a nice gig house sitting a 3 BR house with one cat and one garden for the month of July....sadly the cat abhors dogs so I was disqualified from the position.

[drunkwithwords]

I really love the Laurelhurst/Kerns area. The buildings are wonderful. You might also want to look in the Northwest neighborhood. It's highly rated on the Walk Score website as being pedestrian and bike friendly. I did quite a bit of walking, and those areas ended up being my favorite parts.

It's so funny that you mention liking Trader Joe's. One of the apartments I went to look at was in the Northwest area, and it was right behind Trader Joe's. I was so close to renting it since it was near everything, but I think it's rented out now.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by drunkwithwords

I really love the Laurelhurst/Kerns area. The buildings are wonderful. You might also want to look in the Northwest neighborhood. It's highly rated on the Walk Score website as being pedestrian and bike friendly. I did quite a bit of walking, and those areas ended up being my favorite parts.

It's so funny that you mention liking Trader Joe's. One of the apartments I went to look at was in the Northwest area, and it was right behind Trader Joe's. I was so close to renting it since it was near everything, but I think it's rented out now.

The St Francis is in the NW area. The the I think the OP has found lots of older buildings there already. It's a matter of which ones will allow her dogs.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by lookinforhorseparadise

Well, I gave up driving so I won't be facing the daily parking roulette. Being strictly a pedestrian, I am trying to find a location like this where I can walk to a lot, especially the grocery stores. I know Trader Joe's is a national chain, but I do admit I like their stores. For those of you who are carless, using the bus while pulling a cart full of groceries can be a big hassle, especially when the bus is crowded. My cart in DC eventually suffered a broken axle from being too heavily loaded as I went up and down the bus stairs. So it is really nice to just roll up the street a few blocks whenever you need groceries. Ha, too bad I don't drink much these days or I would be a regular at those taverns.

There's a Fred Meyer only a few blocks away from those apartments, which is a large local/regional grocery/department store. NW 21st is not as busy a street as NW 23rd, but is just a step below as far as having lots of services along it. I think it'd be an easy location to live carlless.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by lookinforhorseparadise

Well, I gave up driving so I won't be facing the daily parking roulette. Being strictly a pedestrian, I am trying to find a location like this where I can walk to a lot, especially the grocery stores. I know Trader Joe's is a national chain, but I do admit I like their stores. For those of you who are carless, using the bus while pulling a cart full of groceries can be a big hassle, especially when the bus is crowded. My cart in DC eventually suffered a broken axle from being too heavily loaded as I went up and down the bus stairs. So it is really nice to just roll up the street a few blocks whenever you need groceries. Ha, too bad I don't drink much these days or I would be a regular at those taverns.

No stairs no worries. You can roll your cart right onto newer buses. And the older buses that do have stairs also have lifts for wheelchairs and walkers. If you ask the drivers to lower the lifts for you and your cart, they will.

People do it all the time including me.