The New Owner of a Gas Station Dreams of Electric Vehicle Charging

ADDRESS: 7991 SW Capitol Highway

YEAR BUILT: 1974

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1,200

MARKET VALUE: $450,020

OWNER: SMART VENTURES LLC

HOW LONG IT’S BEEN EMPTY: 5 years

WHY IT’S EMPTY: Soil contamination

Known by neighbors for its skilled mechanics and surprisingly expensive gas, Handy Andy’s auto repair shop was a Multnomah Village fixture for decades.

“When gas went to $4 a gallon, he was already at five,” recalls a befuddled neighbor, Bill Gallagher.

But when Andy Anderegg died in 2018, the business had fallen deeply in debt. His children were forced to sell it off.

It wasn’t easy. Oil from leaking storage tanks had contaminated the dirt under the nearly century-old service station, and gas had leaked into the basements of nearby homes.

Anderegg’s family says he had gone to great lengths to comply with DEQ demands, including installing pollution sensors and capping the gas tanks.

But the further cleanup necessary to put the lot to new use scared off some potential buyers. One, interested in turning the site into an apartment complex, was reportedly quoted $500,000 for cleanup alone.

Then, in 2021, Barbara Butaeva stumbled upon the property. She needed storage space for her residential remodeling business, and she knew a thing or two about navigating the convoluted city and state permitting process.

Butaeva’s company purchased the lot for a bargain, $350,000, and hired a contractor to decommission storage tanks and remove contaminated dirt.

Now, two years and $200,000 in environmental cleanup later, she still hasn’t broken ground on a planned remodel of the building, which she hopes to eventually turn into a showroom for her business—or perhaps a neighborhood pub. She dreams of installing an electric vehicle charging station and maybe some food carts in the parking lot.

But, first, she has to find money to fix the leaking roof. And repeated break-ins haven’t helped. Someone broke the glass garage door and stole all the tools inside, she says. The windows are boarded up and scrawled with graffiti.

Last year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality gave her efforts a thumbs up: an official “no further action is required” letter arrived in the mail. Now, she will have to go to the city for approval for her remodel.

“I’m trying to do my best,” she says. “Permitting in Portland takes a long time.”

Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that Butaeva has yet to apply for city permits.

Every week, WW examines one mysteriously vacant property in the city of Portland, explains why it’s empty, and considers what might arrive there next. Send addresses to newstips@wweek.com.