UPDATE: From the keen eyes of Reddit comes the above picture which shows Sellwood’s former beloved Mike’s Drive-In taken down to be replaced with apartments. As you can see, someone also spray painted their feelings on the subject.
ORIGINAL POST:
Old-school burger restaurant, Mike’s Drive-In in Sellwood, is in the planning stages to be demolished and replaced with a 78 unit apartment building. Mike’s small local franchise started in 1971, and now has three locations: Milwaukie, Oregon City, and the Sellwood restaurant which opened in 1986, replacing what was then an A&W drive-in. Famous for their burgers and milkshakes, the Sellwood location does a brisk business, especially in the summertime—however, according to the owners addressing closure rumors on Facebook, they could be forced to shut down as soon as January 2017. From Mike’s:
We are on a lease expiring first of year. Yes they want to redevelop the property and at this time they won’t give us more time. That could change depending on many factors. But at this time we are sad to say Mikes in Sellwood has limited time. However this does not effect our other locations.
According to NextPortland.com, which tracks architecture and apartment growth in the city, a company known as Urban Development Group (UDG) has requested “early assistance” for a project at 1725 SE Tenino (which includes Mike’s as well as a property directly east of it) which is a “proposal is for a new apartment building with 78 units. Existing structures will be demolished.” UDG is a Beaverton-based development company run by Dennis Sackhoff (also the owner of SK Hoff Construction), responsible for such projects as the apartment complex that’s the former home of Starky’s Restaurant, tearing down the 100-year-old Sewick’s bar on Hawthorne, building apartments in the Hollywood district that, according to the Willamette Week, “partially obscures the iconic marquee of the Hollywood Theatre,” and who also has a history of demolishing properties and building apartment complexes that have little to no parking.
The loss of Mike’s would be sad for the neighborhood who uses it as a meeting place, as well as those who work there. Manager Kelly Hunt has been employed at the Sellwood location since 1996, and has this to say about her experience. From Mike’s website:
I suppose the reason I have been working here for so long is quite simple: Our customers…they are truly a unique group. I always enjoy seeing and hearing about their families. They seem to include all of us in their lives; and we are always sad when we lose one of them for whatever reason – they move away or they are taken from us. I also like watching how the neighborhood is constantly changing – there are always new faces and new businesses.
More information as it becomes available.
CLARIFICATION: This story has been edited to reflect that the Mike’s Drive-In property is being developed by David Sackhoff’s Urban Development Group, rather than the Urban Development + Partners as previously stated.
http://www.udplp.com is the website for Urban Development + Partners which, despite the confusingly similar name, is a completely different company to Urban Development Group. All the projects mentioned in the article were developed by UD+P, not UDG.
Thank you, maccoinnich! I have corrected the story. I appreciate your diligence!
We acquire, develop and manage income-producing real estate to maximize triple bottom line returns for all of our partners: investors, tenants and the community.
Since when has “Maximising the triple bottom line” done a damn thing for tenants?
Give me ***** break.
You can’t really be upset just because the owner of the property wants to do something different – it’s their property to do with as they please, and if they want to maximize the revenue for their business, good on them. If Mike’s is that in demand, they can set up shop elsewhere, or even buy a suitable property so they are more in control of their destiny.
@oliver depends on whether you mean the old tenants or the new ones.
Iron Horse is also be demolished. There’s yet another pub moving in South of Tacoma & apartments will go up on the DQ lot. Basically Sellwood is the next Division.
I have no problem with the sale, but the Mike’s post, and this article, are slightly misleading to imply that UDG is forcing Mike’s out or that this is somehow due to an expiring lease. The property was owned by an LLC controlled by the owner of Mike’s. Mike’s controlled their destiny if they wanted to remain on the site. When they sold to one of the most active apartment developers in the close-in market, the path ahead was apparent to everyone involved.