Portland Fire officials are now concerned that a downtown apartment building that was badly damaged by a fire on Tuesday, displacing nearly 100 people, is on the brink of collapsing.
A 100 year old apartment building downtown, The May on SW 14th and Taylor, caught fire on May 16.
Why it matters: More broadly, there is a housing shortage in Portland. More specifically, this apartment building housed a large number of tenants who had pulled themselves out of houselessness.
RIP: The building is so badly damaged that it will be demolished.
Silver lining on every cloud: The May is unreinforced masonry, which would collapse during a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake. This forces Portland to get rid of one more killer structure.
A 100 year old apartment building downtown, The May on SW 14th and Taylor, caught fire on May 16.
Why it matters: More broadly, there is a housing shortage in Portland. More specifically, this apartment building housed a large number of tenants who had pulled themselves out of houselessness.
RIP: The building is so badly damaged that it will be demolished.
Silver lining on every cloud: The May is unreinforced masonry, which would collapse during a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake. This forces Portland to get rid of one more killer structure.
Also this: The owner’s name is “SkyNat”.