The house was purchased by a Portland attorney, Randal Acker, in 2005 as office space for his small legal practice.

[2] In 2006, Portland's mass transit authority, TriMet, attempted to acquire the house through condemnation and then sell the property to the university for use as high-rise student housing.

The TriMet plan was cancelled in 2008 after Acker successfully argued that eminent domain power is limited.

In 2011, Acker likened his situation to that featured in the Disney movie, Up.

Later that year, he arranged a Portland screening of the documentary film, Battle for Brooklyn, about Brooklyn, New York, residents fighting to save their homes from real estate developers.