Category: What’s Happening in Sunnyside?

Celebrate PARK(ing) Day and The Intertwine!

Parking spaces transform into mini-parks on September 17

Get ready for a green invasion on Friday, September 17 as PARK(ing) Day takes to the streets in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area — and around the world! PARK(ing) Day demonstrates the need for urban green space and while it does get people’s attention for the day, all around our region many other green spaces and trails that make up The Intertwine can bring joy every day.

Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, created PARK(ing) Day in 2005. Since then, it has become an ongoing, worldwide, open-source experiment in reclaiming public space. Learn how Rebar combines design and activism at www.rebargroup.org.

Sunnyside will enjoy its park adjacent to the SE 33rd & Belmont bike corral. Thanks to the businesses Utopia and Dick’s Kitchen for being on board. And a big shout out to SNA’s Bill Stites for actively coordinating this yet again this year.

Saturday September 18th, 10:00am-4:00pm at the Gateway Fred Meyer store at NE 102nd & Halsey. Look for the Portland Police Bureau Mobile Precinct.

The purpose of the one day event is to destroy unused and potentially dangerous prescription drugs in a manner that raises awareness about the abuse of prescription drugs among teens, while protecting our waterways. Community members will be able to turn in unused prescription medications, obtain information about keeping kids safe from the abuse of prescriptions drugs, and interact with Crime Prevention Coordinators and Portland Police Officers. Prescription medications turned in at this event will be incinerated.

What to Bring:

• Expired or unwanted prescription medications.
• Drugs that are no longer used
• Medicine from desceased family members

Leave all medicines in their orginal containers if possible. Please do NOT bring thermometers, needles, or medical waste of any type. For more info contact Jenni Bernheisel at 503-823-2781 or [email protected].

Musicians, Voice Actors and Sound Effect Artists Bring Magic to Classic Animation Film Gulliver’s Travels in Benefit Fundraiser for Richmond and Sunnyside Neighborhood Associations

On Sunday, September 19, 2010, the Richmond and Sunnyside Neighborhood Associations and Filmusik will present a special showing of the 1939 animation film classic Gulliver’s Travels at the Bagdad Theater for a fundraising benefit for the two neighborhood associations.  A very special feature of the film is that the entire soundtrack to the film will be recreated live through a 20 person crew that will include 4 cartoon voice-over actors, sound effects (Foley) artists, and the Filmusik Chamber performing an original music score – – every line, song, and sound from the movie will be recreated live in front of the audience.

Filmusik presented this production for a 4-night run at the Hollywood Theater to rave reviews.  Due to the immense popularity of the Hollywood shows, the Sunnyside and Richmond Neighborhood  Associations will reprise this production for one more night  — don’t miss it.  McMenamins is donating the use of the Bagdad Theater for this benefit fundraiser.  Tickets will be $10. Buy Now!

Filmusik is a collaborative performance group of local musicians, composers and actors creating unique movie experiences by performing original soundtracks for classic films. Filmusik recently teamed up with the Richmond Neighborhood Association and Portland Parks and Recreation to show the silent film dinosaur classic Lost World in Sewallcrest Park as part of the Portland’s summer Movies in the Park program.

From Darvel Lloyd, Chair  S.E. District Senior Advisory Council

Accident on August 11th

As you may know, another major pedestrian accident occurred on August 11th in front of our S.E. Multicultural Service Center, in which an elderly Loaves and Fishes client had just finished lunch and was struck by a car while attempting to cross Belmont St. He ended up in the hospital with a broken leg and other injuries.  This makes three serious accidents in that block in the last year-and-a-half.  We have waited a long time for a pedestrian safety improvement here (at least 8-9 years!!), but FINALLY  it is about to happen, thanks to all of your advocacy efforts (and patience)!

Construction timeline

Both the Mayor’s Office and Kyle Chisek (POBOT Engineer in charge) just told me that our project is “next on the list” and construction will begin within the next two weeks–as soon as a school project is finished.  Kyle said that a number of city transportation projects were delayed because of the cool spring and early summer.

Speed limit reduction on Belmont?

After this latest accident occurred, I e-mailed the Portland Bureau of Transportation, requesting their safety experts to seriously consider lowering the 30 mph speed limit in that 2-3 block stretch of Belmont Street (from 44th Ave. to 47th Ave.) to

We are the owners of the property on SE Hawthorne that was formerly occupied by Hollywood Video. We thought it would be helpful if we responded to the comments and concerns expressed in the recent emails and tell you about the plans for the redevelopment of the property.

We have owned this property for over 35 years and we have been very committed to the Hawthorne District and are members of the Hawthorne Boulevard Business Association.  Over the last 35 years we have seen this neighborhood transition and become the vibrant area that we are proud to be a part of.  We would not want to do anything that we felt was going to hurt the vitality of the neighborhood. When Hollywood Video vacated, we were left with a building that was in need of substantial repairs and improvements before it could be leased out again. While working with our architect, our goal was to improve the building as much as possible to make the building more active and pedestrian friendly.  The solid brick wall along Hawthorne that was put in by the previous medical clinic tenant some 20 years ago always seemed very pedestrian unfriendly.  We felt that wall elevation should have as much glass as possible to help tie into the pedestrian activity and compliment the surrounding businesses. The other building window systems and the main storefront in the center of the building are also being replaced and there will be an addition of building canopies along both Hawthorne and the east building front.  Also, the building has to be brought up to current seismic codes making it safer for the tenants and the neighborhood. We are also relocating the garbage enclosure so that it not so much upfront and visible.

The parking lot not only needing repaving but the subsurface needed to be rebuilt as well. We are putting in a bio-swale in the parking lot to capture the surface water runoff and re-landscaping the entire site.  We are widening the sidewalk section from its current 8’ width to 10’ along Hawthorne from the driveway entry east all the way to the corner of 36^th Avenue making for a much better pedestrian passage.  We are also installing quite a few biking stalls to hopefully lessen the amount of car traffic going to the building. In order to divide the building into smaller spaces we have to do a lot of electrical and plumbing work. We feel when finished the property we be a lot more visual pleasing and inviting to the neighborhood.

When we were marketing the building for lease we had almost no inquires from what you would call “local” businesses.  Umpqua Bank, who will be at the end of the building along Hawthorne, approached us first as they have evidently been wanting for some time to open a community branch in the Hawthorne District. They will have a neighborhood focused branch they are very intent on providing a unique and friendly customer service. When Goodwill approached us our first reaction was very cautious. But they said they wanted to make this into what they call a “boutique” store similar to the one at SW 10^th & SW Taylor Sts. The merchandise at that store and the way it is displayed is more like a traditional department store. This new Goodwill model appeals to a diverse group of shoppers of various age groups.  There will also not be any outdoor drop-off of goods whatsoever at this location. These commitments by Goodwill as to this new specific use are contained in their lease.  We now feel that Goodwill will fit well into this neighborhood helping to draw even more people to Hawthorne to take advantage of the numerous shops and restaurants.

When Hollywood Video was the tenant in the building, they also managed the property themselves. It seems to us that they did not do a very good job keeping up the appearance of the exterior of the building, landscaping and parking lot. We will now be handling the property management ourselves and we will maintain the property and its appearance in a much better condition.

Thank you,

Kalberer Properties, LLC