Due to sewage odors, intermittent water pressure, and a host of other maintenance issues the government claims beset the office, the Oregon DMV plans to close its busy Mall 205 facility at the end of January.
DMV Administrator Amy Joyce stated in a news release that officials attempted to engage with mall owners to address the issues, but they persisted, leading to the permanent closure of the office located at 9910 S.E. Washington St. in Portland.
In a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive, property owner Rhino Investments Group expressed regret that the Oregon DMV had chosen to vacate the mall, stating that it had attempted to allay the agency’s worries.
Serving over 95,000 individuals last year, the DMV has been at Mall 205 since 2015 and is one of its busiest locations. According to the news release from DMV authorities, the 18 employees are being transferred to other locations in the area.
Beginning February 18, a Sandy office located at 37395 Highway 26 will reopen five days a week. About a year ago, it reduced hours due to a lack of employees.
The DMV claims that the problems have existed for over two years.
The heating and cooling system has been unstable since May 2023, according to DMV spokeswoman Chris Crabb, and employees are unable to adequately regulate the temperature within the building.
The problems peaked in the summer of 2024, and on nine occasions, DMV had to close the office for a portion of the day because the lobby temperature had risen above 90 degrees, which was unsuitable for both patrons and employees, according to an email from Crabb. The restrictions have resulted in the cancellation and rescheduling of thousands of appointments.
Rhino Investments admitted that there were problems with the heating and cooling system, but stated that they were eventually fixed with the DMV in order to have a long-term solution by 2025.
According to Crabb, the workplace had to close for two days in June of last year due to two roof leaks that flooded it.
“The public restroom in the mall outside of DMV’s office has been unsanitary and/or non-functional consistently over the past several months and is frequently without bathroom products,” she continued, adding that the office smelled strongly of sewage a few months later, in August.
Rhino claimed that it was not required to maintain the common-area restrooms open under the terms of the lease and that it had closed them after they had been vandalized on multiple occasions.
Additionally, there were several days in December 2024 and January 2025 when there was absolutely no water, which prevented both customers and employees from using the restrooms, according to Crabb.
Rhino said that numerous break-ins and copper piping thefts that seriously damaged the DMV’s facilities were to blame for a large number of the agency’s recent water issues.
As we hurried to do urgent repairs, this resulted in sporadic service outages, the business claimed in a statement. Although there have been no reported problems with other tenants, we are still dedicated to providing a secure and useful space for all of our tenants and their clients.
According to Joyce’s news release, the DMV’s lease expires in late February, so we had to make the tough choice to close the office and look for a better place.
On January 31, the office shuts.
Despite months of looking, the agency stated that it did not anticipate finding and opening a new facility for at least a year.
–Jonathan Bach covers real estate and housing. You can contact him by phone at 503-221-4303 or by email at [email protected].
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