For the neighbors, it’s something they never thought they'd see: The massive tear down of a vacant home, essentially burying an ugly past.
The home along East Burnside is at the center of so much neighborhood disruption and drama.
It’s where neighbors watched homeless groups set up camp, where fires erupted at all hours, even engulfing a neighbor's fence; it’s also where a brave neighbor begged Portland city commissioners for help, because she couldn't take it anymore.
And adding to the drama, the owners of the property run La Mota, the state's second largest cannabis dispensary. They're the ones who hired then Secretary of State Shemia Fagan for consulting work that led to her resignation.
But if progress is measured by approval ratings, massive progress is being made here.
"It's kinda exciting to have people honking when they come by, and everybody's ecstatic that we took down the house. It's been quite an experience,” said Joseph Mayer from Mayer Construction, the group tearing down the house.
Neighbors call this three-year segment of unrest a nightmare. And it's not quite over yet. One neighbor told me he still smells fentanyl smoke wafting toward his house from those who still gather here. There are some needles in the yard.
Construction workers say they found drug paraphernalia and gun shell casings while tearing the place down.
And there was this:
"Somebody was running a homemade sewer line into there, so there's some pretty nasty material down there. You don't want to go down there; you know what I mean? Just a lot of gross stuff,” said Mayer.
But neighbors will take all the gross stuff now in exchange for an aromatic future.
Armand Martens has lived next door for 53 years. He's worried the homeless camps will return, and he'd love to move. But he knows selling will be tough.
"Having this thing here -- it depressed the market for houses, the values went down. I've probably lost $100,000 at least, because who would want to buy a house sitting here, you know? I'm glad that's going away now,” said Martens.
And they're still wondering why it took so long. We reached out to the city about that. They provided a joint statement by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Carmen Rubio that said they're identifying the most dangerous buildings across the city and will take immediate action and that, "These instances of fires, drug dealing, unabated graffiti and squatters cannot continue, and we remain focused on cleaning them up and keeping property owners accountable."
So what will sit on this property in the future? No one knows for sure. What's left is a neighborhood that learned lessons about standing up and refusing to give in.