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- ADDRESS: 6700 NE Broadway
- YEAR BUILT: 1948
- SQUARE FOOTAGE: 20,120
- MARKET VALUE: $1.9 million
- OWNER: Pacific Property Holding LLC
- HOW LONG IT’S BEEN EMPTY: Since March 26
- WHY IT’S EMPTY: It burned down.
In its heyday, Pacific Market was the bustling center of the Northeast Portland neighborhood that surrounded it. Opened in 1997, it served a diverse clientele, from Asian immigrants looking for snacks from the old country to Portland natives seeking cheaper produce.
The place carried countless varieties of instant ramen and lots of exotic drinks. The owner tried year-round to stock durian, the spiky South Asian fruit that many consider a delicacy, despite its pungent aroma. It wasn’t the most organized store. Products were often left on wooden pallets in and around the aisles for customers to grab.
It all came to an end early on the morning of March 26, when flames tore through the building, consuming the Pacific Market and the neighboring restaurant, Thai Binh. The cause, according Portland Fire & Rescue spokesman Rick Graves, was an “accidental unspecified electrical issue.”
Not much has happened since the fire hoses turned off. People have breached the flimsy chain-link around the charred structure and picked through the ruins, which are open to the elements because the roof caved in during the blaze. Collapsing shelves are still laden with charred packets of instant Vietnamese coffee, coconut milk and dinner ware.
The sidewalk outside the store is littered with trash, including bags of Vietnamese candy, broken glass, and spent fireworks. Beyond that, the parking has become home to a small fleet of battered cars and vans, some of which double as housing.
Visit the Pacific Market site, and you’re likely to be greeted by John Marino, the self-appointed guardian of the site and leader of the cleanup. He lives at a shelter in East Portland but spends much of his time patrolling the Pacific Market property, trying to keep people from entering and getting hurt.
“I don’t let anyone live here,” Marino says.
The property is owned by Pacific Property Holding LLC, which, in turn, is controlled by Tronghuy Pham, according to public records. Reached by phone, Pham says the cleanup has been delayed by insurance red tape. He says he’s applied for a demolition permit from the city and hopes to get started soon.
“We have a contractor already,” Pham says. “It’s a long process.”
For now, the scene around the old Pacific Market is similar to the one that prevailed at Washington Center, the building downtown that became an open-air fentanyl market last year (“Market Forces,” WW, March 22, 2023). Shattered windows? Check. Breached fence? Check. Trash everywhere? Check. People barely making it in 2024′s Portland? Check.
Like Washington Center, Pacific Market seems to be flying under an overstretched city’s radar. There is no evidence that the city or county has taken any action to clean it up. Nor have there been any complaints from neighbors, according to city records.
Until there are, little is likely to change, says Ken Ray, spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Development Services, which handles code violations and property matters. “As you know, our code enforcement system is complaint-driven,” Ray said in an email.
Alerted to the property by WW, Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversaw BDS until July 1, when an interim city manager took over all bureaus, said she sent staff to have a look.
“It’s important for the city to be responsive when we receive information outside of the complaint process, and simply check things out ourselves to get ahead of any developing situations like this,” Rubio said in a statement.
A spokesman for Mayor Ted Wheeler said Pacific Market is “on the city’s radar.”