Empty Nest

ADDRESS: 4904 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

YEAR BUILT: 1910

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 7,481

MARKET VALUE: $1.4 million

OWNER: The Fraternal Order of Eagles North Portland Eagles Aerie #3426

HOW LONG IT’S BEEN EMPTY: 3 years

WHY IT’S EMPTY: Dwindling fraternalism and aerie infighting

Motorists venturing far enough east on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard are routed south at 50th Avenue to veer around the foot of Mount Tabor. There, they circle one of Southeast Portland’s more conspicuous examples of urban blight, an abandoned meetinghouse of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It was once known as Aerie #3256, and it’s now coated in graffiti and ringed by tents and dilapidated cars.

A neighbor expressed surprise to WW that the property hadn’t been redeveloped into condos, like the four-story “Meridian Lofts” across the street.

In fact, it nearly was. In 2016, with aerie membership dwindling, the national organization tried to sell the property. At the time, former member Pete Forsyth says, it was fielding offers north of $5 million.

One developer discussed plans with the city to build a “new 5-story apartment building with ground floor retail, basement parking, and 210 apartment units,” according to a preliminary building permit.

But the deal fell apart after extensive pushback from members like Forsyth who felt betrayed by national leadership. A petition to save the aerie received 805 signatures online. “It seems to me that [the meetinghouse] was a better service to the community than another four-story condo,” Forsyth says. (He hasn’t been involved in the organization in recent years.)

The fraternal order’s plans then hit another roadblock: pesky