You can track the history of the Alberta neighborhood just by looking at the changes at the 90-year building on the corner of NE 13th Avenue.



In the mid 2000s, the grey building still bore the Accuracy Grinding tag. When the street went through a bit revitalization in 2009, the building became a little classier: A coat of white paint and wood trim covered up Accuracy Grinding.



By 2010, when the white gave way to periwinkle and a sign announcing Bikram Yoga, the building and the street looked totally transformed.



Now, even the new Alberta Street is changing. As hip eateries such as Little Big Burger and Bunk Bar move in, Alberta's old standbys are glossing up their spaces, too, using city dollars to help pay for new looks.



The Hilt's circa-2010 white-and-black logo has been replaced with a punchy red font reminiscent of a comic book. Portland Fret Works -- which led the way for the first revitalization by turning a tiny dry cleaning shop and empty lot into a guitar repair shop and the Vita Cafe -- will soon be replacing its sign.



And the hot yoga studio at 1301 N.E. Alberta St. has said goodbye to the periwinkle freshly applied just four years ago.



"There are some brand new properties on Alberta that look great, but there are also some properties on Alberta that have significant deferred maintenance," said Sara Wittenberg, executive director of the nonprofit Alberta Main Street.



The most recent changes at N.E. 1301 began with a name change. The Bikram in Bikram Yoga is a real person -- and a controversial one, as of late. After five women sued Bikram Choudhury for charges from rape to sexual harassment, Alberta's Bikram Yoga studio owner Suzanne Cummings decided to remove the Bikram name.



Cummings pulled off the B, but the I stuck to the building. The K and the R came right off.



As the letters fell away, Cummings decided to keep the name that was left: I Am Yoga. The building bore the same happenstance sign for nearly a year. But the shadows of the B and K remained.



"A lot of people thought it was vandalism," Cummings said. "It looked terrible for a few months."



Now, the building has a new sign and another fresh paint job to boot. Cummings is sticking with the "I am Yoga" name, but the building is now red and yellow with a fire-and-fowl mural painted on the side.



Cummings paid for the new look using a $2,500 Alberta Main Street mini grant. The Portland Development Commission created the nonprofit Alberta Main Street in 2009 to boost the economic vitality of the neighborhood. The city provides the cash, and the nonprofit divvies it up.



Five years later, the street is chock full of new businesses, and Alberta Main Street leaders are turning their focus toward smaller cosmetic concerns. For the past year, the nonprofit has used money from the Portland Development Commission to match business owners who chip in matching dollars to upgrade their facades. The taxpayer-funded grants range from $500 - $2,500.



The goal, the nonprofit's leaders say, is strengthening the business district -- not gentrifying the neighborhood.



"We couldn't be happier after the first couple of rounds of the grants," Wittenberg said. "Incrementally, property by property, it makes the street better for the businesses and the residents in the neighborhood."



Eleven businesses took advantage of the program last year, winning a collective $20,000 to replace crumbling curbs and outdated signs. Those owners spent a total of $32,000 of their own money for the projects. Another 12 won grants adding up to $18,000 this year.



This year's grants divided the Cork wine shop into two spaces, making way for Gladys Bikes. Binks added a water bottle filling station and a mural. Frock Boutique bought a new sign and art bike rack. Shift Vacation Rentals bought tulip chairs.

Those changes have inspired other business owners. Across the street from I am Yoga, Fuel Cafe is rebranding itself with a sunshine and wheat logo. They didn't win a grant, but the street's new look inspired the owners to invest in their own new red-and-yellow sign. The cafe is also updating its menu.

And later this spring, 11 blocks from I Am Yoga, a mini grant will pay to refurbish one of the street's remaining historic features: the Rexall Drug sign. The neighborhood pharmacy closed in 1981 after 66 years in business. The sign still hangs above a coffee shop, but it went dark years ago.



"The property owner wants to have it be lit up again," Wittenberg said.





-- Casey Parks