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A $16.9 million facility in Gresham that houses offices for six social service agencies and provides 47 units of permanent housing recently won national recognition for its innovative use of federal funds.

, a local nonprofit focused on the needs of low-income and homeless families in East Portland and East Multnomah County, used a combination of public and private funding to construct the Rockwood Building, which opened in October 2011 at 124 N.E. 181^st Ave.

罢丑别听 in Washington, D.C., last month honored Human Solutions with its Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award.聽 The Audrey Nelson award was established in 1987 to recognize the 鈥渆xemplary use of Community Development Block Grant funds which address the needs of families, homes and neighborhoods.鈥�

Human Solutions opened offices in the Rockwood Building, along with , , , and .

Together, the agencies will provide a wide variety of services in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Portland-metropolitan area. Human Solutions expects approximately 35,000 people per year to take advantage of the available services, which include medical care, early childhood education, senior meals and employment counseling.

The Rockwood Building also features 47 units of permanent housing: 15 units for homeless families and 32 units of affordable housing for people with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median income.

鈥淭his project stood out for its very innovative use of funding and mix of key services in one place,鈥� Vicki Watson, NCDA assistant director said in a statement. 鈥淭hat’s something you don’t see every day, and we consider it a model other communities can learn from.鈥�

Money for the project came from federal funds, the city of Gresham, city of Portland, Multnomah County, State of Oregon and private funders.