First Addition lives up to its name

Neighborhood is named one of the top 10 neighborhoods in U.S.

By Sam Bennett

The Lake Oswego Review, Oct 4, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2

As housing prices skyrocketed in the last few years, developers have bulldozed some 1,200-square-foot cottages and replaced them with homes nearly three times the size in square footage.

“The land prices in First Addition really demand that,” said Lake Oswego Mayor Judie Hammerstad. “It’s hard to build a small house on a large lot and make it pencil-out. People are not going to spend half a million dollars on land and live in a bungalow.”

The city has made changes to the building code, to address setback issues as well as height and streetscape requirements.

Some developers choose to “max-out the code,” Ryan-Shaw said, referring to building to the maximum size allowed.

Developers also have razed older homes on double lots and replaced them with two homes. A typical lot size in First Addition is 6,000 square feet.

“The tradition now is that families and couples want larger homes,” said Shaw-Ryan.

She said the neighborhood association remains “vigilant” in its monitoring of new construction in First Addition.

The association is also vigilant when it comes to the city’s consideration of moving its library, possibly to the West End building.

“We’re not in support of moving the library,” she said. “The library is a symbol of the neighborhood.”

Shaw-Ryan, who lives across from the library, said it’s the sum total of all First Addition’s amenities that make it desirable.

“It has good bones, but the people who live and work here are what make it special,” she said.

<< Prev. Page 1 | 2

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit