Investor offers to sell back Portland ‘Red House’ amid heated protests

The real estate investor who snapped up the so-called “Red House on Mississippi” in Portland has offered to sell it back to its former owners — who were evicted — amid heated protests over the property.

Roman Ozeruga has agreed to sell back the home at cost to the Kinneys, a black and Indigenous family who had lived there since the 1950s, Oregon Live reported.

Ozeruga, 33, bought the foreclosed home on North Mississippi Avenue for $260,000 in 2018.

The home then became a symbol of racial inequality and gentrification in the city — with activists occupying the home since the summer to support the Kinneys, who have refused to vacate.

But the demonstrations dialed up this week, with protesters setting up a three-block “autonomous zone” around the home.

Friday morning marked the fourth day of protests, according to Oregon Live.

“We are a small family business, we don’t seek to hurt anyone, of course,” Ozeruga, who co-owns Urban Housing Development LLC, told the outlet.

“We’re overwhelmed by the attention to this. We’ve already offered to sell back the property at cost because of course we’ve paid taxes, legal fees, bank fees, etc.”

On Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies from Multnomah County and Portland police officers clashed with protesters as authorities attempted to “re-secure” the home for the developer, Oregon Live said.

Now, Ozeruga said he fears for his safety.

“I myself am a father of little kids,” he said.

“I don’t have a publicity team or even a lawyer for this. I’m concerned for safety, to be honest.”

The Kinneys have also sued Ozergua’s company and a slew of others, claiming their rights have been violated.

Meanwhile, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has said he hopes a compromise could be reached to end the controversy — and his office has reached out to Ozeruga.

“I haven’t spoken with the mayor himself, but with his office,” Ozeruga said. “I’m not sure what is going to happen.”

But Ozeruga noted that the problems surrounding the home run much deeper.

“Even after we give it back (and we offered that already), this issue won’t go away,” he said.

“It’s about mortgages, and laws and law enforcement.”