May Apartments demolition begins 4 months after devastating fire
PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) -- Demolition work has begun on the May Apartments in Portland’s Goose Hollow, which were gutted by a four-alarm fire on May 16, 2023.
Workers manned a Volvo excavator Tuesday morning, Sept. 12, while others trained hoses on the dust and rubble. Its claw tore though plaster and lath walls and white sheetrock, sending red bricks tumbling.
The operator grabbed hundreds of bricks at a time in the Volvo’s bucket and transferred them to a dump truck, while men in white hazmat suits looked on. A worker said they expect the 100-year-old building to be demolished in two weeks, but clearing the site will take longer.
Fire destroyed much of the top two floors immediately, and the I-405 freeway was closed for safety reasons. One day later the top, front edge of the building, on the Southwest 16th Avenue side above the West End Grocery store, collapsed into the street.
Former May resident Garrett Repp has been indicted on 55 charges, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. Repp allegedly set fire to the apartments, at 1410 S.W. Taylor St., which led to 33 residents being displaced.
Repp had already been served an eviction notice from the apartments earlier in May, and other residents complained of him trying to start fires in his apartment and frequently pulling the fire alarm.
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