91视频

Multnomah County and city of Portland officials are eyeing a long-vacant warehouse near the Steel Bridge as a potential site for a 200-bed permanent homeless shelter.

Converting the warehouse, at 320 N.W. Hoyt St., into a shelter could exacerbate tensions with property owners and business operators in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, but it also would offer public officials a long-term alternative to the temporary-shelter hopscotch they’ve engaged in recently.

鈥淲e haven’t had a big permanent shelter in the downtown core, and we still see that need,鈥� said Denis Theriault, spokesman for Multnomah County and the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

Negotiations with the property owner, Alco Investment Co. of Seattle, are under way, Theriault said. The Joint Office is seeking a long-term lease for the shelter.

鈥淭here isn’t a lease yet,鈥� he said.

The Joint Office has applied for an early assistance meeting with the Bureau of Development Services to determine whether the property could host a shelter.

The warehouse, built in 1925, needs significant renovations before it can function as a shelter, Theriault said. Carleton Hart Architecture and project management consultant Shiels Obletz Johnsen are at work on the project. Transition Projects, a Portland nonprofit, would operate the shelter.

Some neighbors are fighting the drive to establish another center for homeless service in Old Town Chinatown. The Old Town Chinatown Community Association has held public forums on the topic, and met with Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury.

鈥淚t’s just not the right time to add any additional social services to the neighborhood,鈥� said Helen Ying, chairwoman of the neighborhood association.

The group has sent a letter to Wheeler and Kafoury protesting the proposal.

Guardian Real Estate Services President Tom Brenneke said adding a shelter would not conform to a years-old agreement with the neighborhood that there would be no net gain in shelter beds. Guardian owns two properties nearby 鈥� Block 33 and the Tuck Lung property.

鈥淚 am opposed to it,鈥� Brenneke said. 鈥淭he area’s overburdened with that type of social service. We already have a significant facility in Bud Clark Commons, and adding 200 more beds doesn’t seem to be in keeping with the agreement.鈥�

Theriault said the shelter could make a positive contribution to the neighborhood.

鈥淲e understand there are livability concerns in Old Town Chinatown,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his shelter is a way to help.鈥�

Public officials continue to receive complaints of homeless individuals lining up to wait for a bed in Portland’s few available shelters. Part of the strategy to address those complaints is to offer a 24-hour, low-barrier shelter with in-house services, Theriault said.

The Joint Office is evaluating the possibility of closing other facilities in Old Town Chinatown if and when the Hoyt Street shelter opens to lessen the burden on the neighborhood.

Wheeler supports the Joint Office’s strategy, spokesman Michael Cox said.

A large shelter would also lessen the city’s and county’s reliance on short-term, temporary shelters hosted by developers. In recent winters, the Menashes, Malsins and others have agreed to host short-term shelters.

The Portland Business Alliance supports using the Hoyt Street site, president and CEO Sandra McDonough said.

Neighbors have legitimate livability concerns, she said, but those are being addressed by measures such as increased police patrols on foot.

鈥淭here’s not a lot of sites,鈥� McDonough said. 鈥淪o this represents a good, long-term site that will work.鈥�