Yesterday, I got a tour of the under-construction project known as Milepost 5, the defunct Baptist Manor retirement home that is being turned into something of an artist incubator out on 82nd and Glisan. (Yeah, 82nd—I’ll get back to that shortly.)

So here you go, celebrated creative class of Portland, this is one of the first looks at a project designed to appeal just to you.

The complex is made up of two buildings. One of them has been gutted and is being converted into small-ish condo units, the other, larger building will be used for a gallery, a restaurant, performance space, and apartment rentals—all for artists.

Here’s some basics, plus photos and my take on it after the jump:

It’s a private partnership, but it’s been facilitated by Sam Adams’ office through staffer Jesse Beason. The condo building is set to open first, with sales starting in mid-July and opening in December. The first floor is all small, 500 square foot units that will go for around $99,500. The second and third floor units are larger, 700 square feet and above, and will go for $150,000 or more. The fourth floor, which is being added to the building, will be larger units in the $225,000 to $250,000 range.

The renovation on the other building, which is quirky as hell, will be dependent on how well the condos sell, and how much demand there is for the space.

This is the exterior of the condo building, facing a nice parking lot/courtyard off of 81st.

The obviously unfinished interior of the condo building from the third floor.

Here's the rub. The complex is directly on 82nd, which could be a barrier for potential buyers.

It's not any further from the city core than, say, North Portland, but it feels further, and 82nd has, shall we say, a unique personality that's traditionally been more suited to strip malls, car dealerships, and fast food joints than artist condos. But, the neighborhood is changing, and the surrounding Montavilla area is blowing up. Still, this entire project is a bold experiment, and any experiment means taking risks. Here, the risk is whether the location will doom it, and that won't be known for months or years. (And, no, there's no city money tied up in the project, Bojack, so put the brakes on the boondoggle talk.)

One of the many, many hallways in the interior of the apartment building. Designing this will be tricky, since most of the existing rooms are literally just rooms, and not all of them even have bathrooms. The question is how many interior walls will be ripped out to make way for larger apartments, how much they'll rent for, and who, exactly, will rent them.

Also, it still smells like old people.

Like I said, quirky as hell. This cross was taken down from the first floor chapel, which will be converted into a performance space.

Built in the '40s, last redesigned in the '60s. According to Beason, the chapel will probably stay relatively untouched. I want to see a show there immediately.

Toilets, stacked in a large closet.

The kitchen and dining room are massive. It could be used by a restaurant, but there's also talk of sharing the kitchen as a commissary space for food cart businesses.

The courtyard in the center of the apartment building. That's Beason on the right, and Urban Honking blogger Mike Merrill on the left.

And thus ends your tour. What do you think, artists? Would you live a spot like this?