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Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers has signed a five-year lease agreement for the former Wapato Jail building, real estate investor Jordan Schnitzer announced recently.

Schnitzer, president of Harsch Investment Properties, agreed to lease the 155,400-square-foot Bybee Lakes Hope Center for the token amount of $1 a year.

鈥淎fter two years of looking for the right partner, we are now entering into a five-year lease with Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers to renovate and repurpose the project formerly known as Wapato,鈥� Schnitzer stated in a news release. 鈥淪ince purchasing the property in 2018, we have entertained numerous proposals from credible nonprofits to help homeless and others in need.鈥�

Schnitzer stated that he was impressed after meeting with Helping Hands founder Alan Evans, who was homeless for 27 years before establishing the nonprofit in 2002. It’s based in Seaside, and now has 11 facilities in Multnomah, Clatsop, Yamhill and Tillamook counties.

The lease agreement is a milestone in the yearslong effort to put the never-used jail building to some useful purpose. Schnitzer had pushed for a social-service tenant, saying he would otherwise demolish the building. In October 2019, Schnitzer went so far as to unveil plans for a 314,000-square-foot warehouse. The former jail, completed in 2004, is in an industrial area dotted with fulfillment centers and other facilities.

Developer Marty Kehoe, who acquired the building from Multnomah County, sold it to Harsch for $5 million in April 2018.

The project team that will convert the jail into a shelter and reentry center was assembled by construction manager DAY CPM. Precision Construction, an affiliate of Hoffman Construction 鈥� the ex-jail’s original builder 鈥� has been selected as general contractor. Architecture and engineering services were awarded to Otak Inc.

Otak will work with VLMK Engineering + Design, Interface Engineering and Knot to provide functional architecture, way-finding and interior design.

The Bybee Lakes Hope Center will pair supportive services with transitional housing. Helping Hands will open three of the nine wings at the facility and house up to 228 beds in the first year of operation, Harsch announced. At full capacity, the center will be able to serve 525 individuals.