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It’s a vicious circle.

Alcohol and drug addiction can cause social wreckage, including eviction and crime. Addicts who manage to get clean often can’t secure housing because of their pasts, and can end up on the streets and in abusive behaviors that cost communities millions of dollars a year.

Housing is a key ingredient in the breakup of that cycle, according to Herman Bryant, executive director of the Miracles Club – a nonprofit that supports individuals recovering from addiction.

“A lot of times what happens is that some individual relapses because they don’t have a place to go,” he said. “Not everyone is totally ready to continue to be homeless and stay clean. What we’re trying to do is (help) individuals so they can reach the full potential of becoming a productive member of society.”

To that end, the Miracles Club – together with Central City Concern and Guardian Real Estate Services – is working to build in Northeast Portland a new permanent housing facility that will cater to individuals recovering from alcohol and drug dependency. The project team believes Miracles Central will expand the city’s deficient stock of affordable, drug-free living options, and also set the stage for more.

The $11 million project calls for construction of a six-story building at 1306 N.E. Second Ave. The 47 housing units will be available to people earning 50 to 60 percent of the area’s median family income, thanks to $7 million in tax increment financing from the Portland Housing Bureau.

Guardian learned of the available funding in 2012, and immediately began compiling a development team it believed could raise the bar on social equity. The firm’s proposal was chosen instead of two others submitted to the PHB.

Dan Steffey, senior vice president of development for Guardian, pointed out that Miracles Central won’t be a treatment center or transitional housing, but rather stabilized housing for people already in recovery.

“It’s not transitional housing, but it’s a step along that spectrum toward gaining independence and moving on,” he said. “The demand is huge. It’s a question of affordability, and it’s a question of: How do you meet the needs for those residents? If you’ve been involved in alcohol and drugs to the point that you’ve destroyed your life, you’ve probably got some history to the point that most landlords won’t be interested in renting to you.”

For that reason, Bryant said the Miracles Club’s program is founded on forgetfulness. The nonprofit will work with CCC to provide counseling and peer-mentoring services on the ground floor.

Currently, 882 people are on CCC’s waiting list for alcohol- and drug-free housing – 118 of them signed up after Jan. 1. When the organization opened its alcohol- and drug-free family housing waiting list this month, it received 50 applications on the first day and had to close enrollment just as quickly; it had only 88 units available.

Transitional alcohol- and drug-free units that do open up are filled again within two to three days, and have an average occupancy rate of approximately 97 percent.

“Because addiction is a lifelong illness, (most people in recovery) feel they will be best served to live in a community where there are peers, and people who will assist in recovery efforts,” said Sean Hubert, senior director of housing and employment for CCC. “We’ve studied the reasons why people relapse, and we’ve found it very important to offer recovery housing options.”

Miracles Central will add approximately 21 studios, 22 one-bedroom units, and four two-bedroom units to the mix. It will be the second facility for the Miracles Club, which already operates a 40-unit apartment building on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Bryant said residents in the King neighborhood initially held reservations about the recovery-oriented affordable housing facility there, but added that the Miracles Club showed that it was a good neighbor. Alan Silver, chairman of the King Neighborhood Association, said that comments from residents reflect that assessment.

Partnering with a 35-year-old organization like CCC (which has numerous assets in its portfolio) comes with other added benefits for the Miracles Club – namely, through property management.

“This is another instance of Miracles being able to lean on others, as well as work with others, so we can continue to pursue the experience of becoming asset managers ourselves,” Bryant said.

Guardian, meanwhile, has brought Carleton Hart Architecture, LMC Construction and ALMAR Contracting to the project. The official team is Multi-Cultural Development Group LLC, which is a partnership featuring Guardian Real Estate Services, CJD Holdings LLC, ALMAR Contracting and Carleton Hart Architecture executive Bill Hart. Steffey said he’s hoping to push minority participation to 50 percent; the city’s minimum requirement is closer to 20 percent.

Guardian and its partners will purchase the land for the project from the PHB, and expects to close on the deal by the end of the year. The company hopes to begin construction around the same time.