Residents of Eastland apartments evicted
PORTLAND – The remaining low-income residents of rental units at the Eastland Park Hotel have 90 days to move out and make way for a major hotel renovation that could include a new ballroom in Congress Square Plaza . Eviction notices were sent to residents Monday. Earlier this month, about 12 tenants were still living in the hotel, said city spokeswoman Nicole Clegg . The notices came as no surprise since the hotel’s owner, Ohio- based RockBridge Capital , has been clear about its plan to convert about 50 low-income apartments into hotel guest rooms under the Westin Hotels name. The 90-day notice is 60 days longer than the residents’ leases require, said Adam Valente, senior vice president of RockBridge Capital, who noted that the investment group is making a significant donation to the city’s housing fund. The evictions will set in motion an overhaul of the 85-year-old hotel that Valente said will turn a “left-for-dead property” at a heavily traveled intersection into “a great sh...