City Mechanics to Move to Swan Island

WW wrote about Kerby Garage and the mechanics who work there in an April cover story.

The mechanics of Kerby Garage enjoy cake at a going-away party. (Chris Nesseth)
By Sophie Peel

After fixing vehicles for more than 50 years in the cramped, sloping and degrading Kerby Garage in North Portland, the city’s 40 mechanics who repair 2,300 of the city’s vehicles are finally getting a new home.

On July 1, the city signed a 20-year lease for a sprawling facility on Swan Island owned by beverage distribution tycoon Ed Maletis. The Kerby Garage’s operations will move in to that space in 2026.

Over the next two years, the new garage will get $54 million worth of improvements and infrastructure to be able to handle the mechanics’ daily operations; the cost will be repaid over a 20-year loan period by city bureaus whose vehicles are repaired and serviced by the Kerby mechanics.

WW wrote about Kerby Garage and the mechanics who work there in an April cover story (“The Garage That Portland Forgot,” April 10).

“We are thrilled that the entire City Council came together to recognize the importance of the city’s core work and to invest in and support one of the key groups that provides it,” says Maty Sauter, manager of the city’s Bureau of Fleet and Facilities.

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