Three business partners who came together during the pandemic seek to transform the site of a shuttered Rite Aid store in Southeast Portland into a two-building multifamily development with at least 200 apartments.

The project at 2440 S.E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. comes from Seneca Development Co., which was founded in 2020 by industry veterans Michael Hamilton, Bryant Jaksic and Andy Schreck.

An early assistance request for the project’s first phase landed last week. Plans for the initial phase call for 120 apartments and ground-floor retail space.

A second phase would place 80-90 residential units in a building on an adjacent lot, also with ground-floor retail space.

The Seneca Development trio initially joined forces to build The Robert Apartments, a 55-unit building that was completed in Albina in 2022. After shepherding the project through construction and securing tenants, the developers began considering their next move. They turned their attention to the Richmond neighborhood, where a drug store had closed in 2023 at the highly trafficked corner of Southeast Division Street and Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

Seneca plans to close in August on the property, which is owned by a limited liability company linked to Tim Small of Portland.

The Division Street corridor has seen increased investment stretching from the Willamette River east to 52nd Avenue, a trend the Seneca partners noticed.

“We love the area,” said Hamilton, Seneca’s president. “All three of us are born-and-raised Portland natives. We like seeing the neighborhood improve. Housing is a huge need, so if we can develop quality housing that’s affordable for everyday Portlanders and contribute to the vitality of our city, that’s our goal.”

Seneca plans to construct the buildings in two phases. The first would be located at the Rite Aid site. The second would replace a surface parking lot north of Southeast Caruthers Street.

In compliance with the city’s inclusionary housing program, 10 percent of the units will be affordable for tenants making up to 60 percent of the area median income.

Both phases are being designed by Josef West of West Architects in Beaverton. Seneca will use its own in-house general contractor, Hamilton said. Lakeside Investment Group, based in Dallas, Oregon, is a partner in the project.

Seneca plans to break ground on the first phase in spring 2026, with completion expected in late 2027. The two phases will cost an estimated $50 million.

The project comes on the heels of another significant multifamily proposal in Southeast Portland. High Street Residential in March engaged in an initial design advice hearing for a 243-unit proposal in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood.

Portland has gained little multifamily housing in recent years, and Hamilton said the light pipeline provides an opening for new projects. Permit review times are growing swifter, interest rates have declined, and subcontractors are looking for work, Hamilton said.

“Frankly, the last two and a half years, it has been very difficult to get a market-rate project off the ground,” he said. “There is a massive shortfall with projects being submitted to the city for permit. Review times are speeding up because the city isn’t looking at a bunch of stuff. We’re already seeing softening when it comes to labor pricing. Our hope is we can time it right when it comes to permits.”

Data paints a picture of a stable multifamily market. Vacancy rates in the Portland-metro area grew to 8.9 percent in the first quarter of 2025, up from 8.1 percent a year earlier, according to Kidder Mathews. Properties’ rent prices were essentially unchanged, declining less than 1 percent to $1,872.

Average sale prices hovered near $180,000 per unit, at a 6 percent capitalization rate.

Seneca owns several other developable properties around Portland that it plans to build on when market conditions improve, Hamilton said.

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