u/BismoFunyuns81

Profiles in Dunthorpe Douchebaggery

Having founded the hotel in 2015 with two former business partners, current owners Cohen and Burke became both influential and controversial in the beleaguered Old Town neighborhood. Now the duo is leaving Portland for the East Coast

Both Cohen and Burke left their leadership positions at the OTCA earlier this year. Burke presided over her last meeting as board chair in April. Cohen left his position as treasurer in February.

Cohen was a co-founder of the shoe incubator Made in Old Town, which imploded this spring after the project defaulted on a $7 million loan it received from the city’s economic development agency. As WW reported, Made in Old Town’s leadership used the Prosper Portland loan it received in 2025 to buy two Old Town buildings for $6.9 million even though an appraiser valued the buildings at just $3.8 million. (Notably, the Old Town Community Association was also instrumental in helping Made in Old Town secure the first of its government funding in 2024 when the Oregon Legislature approved a $2 million grant to the project.)

Vega Pederson spoke hopefully about the future, saying the county government “is as strong as it’s ever been.”

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