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Project name: The Gloria CenterLocation: The Dalles

Completion: March 2024

Size: 9,975 square feet

Owner/Developer: Mid-Columbia Community Action Council

Architect: Access Architecture

Interior Designer: Access Architecture

Engineers: Method Landscape Architecture, AKS Engineering & Forestry (the previous Tenneson Engineering office), TM Rippey Consulting Engineers

General Contractor: Bremik Construction

Submitting Company: Bremik Construction

Other Key Partners: City of The Dalles, Housing Development Center

Subcontractors: Andres Landscape, Artistic Excavation, B & T Striping and Curbing, Bend Commercial Glass, Building Specialties Northwest, Center Pointe Signs, Chown Hardware Commercial CabinetWorks, Custom Designed Skylights, Devco Mechanical, Empire Painting, Fire Systems West, GRS Erectors, Hage Electric & Construction Services, HVAC, MB Structures, McDonald & Wetle, Mid Valley Commercial Construction, Mike’s Fence Center, Mission Construction, MLS Interiors dba K&D Window Coverings, Munsen Paving, Northwest Masonry Restoration, Overhead Door Co. of Portland, Rubenstein’s Carpet, Service Partners of Oregon/Silvercote, Standard TV & Appliance, VPI Quality Windows, Web Steel Buildings Northwest

The Gloria Center has opened its doors as a comprehensive hub for homeless and vulnerable residents in the Columbia River Gorge, offering both emergency shelter and centralized support services in one location.

The facility combines a navigation center housing multiple nonprofit agencies with 18 free-standing Pallet shelters providing 36 emergency beds for those experiencing homelessness in Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties.

The navigation center brings together several partner organizations including Oregon Human Development Corporation, Mid-Columbia Center for Living, One Community Health, Nch’I Wana Housing and Bridges to Health. Community members can access housing assistance, behavioral and physical healthcare, utility support, weatherization services, veterans’ programs and employment resources all under one roof.

A distinctive feature of the project is its innovative design using three separate pre-engineered metal buildings seamlessly integrated into a single 10,000-square-foot structure, reducing costs while maintaining architectural integrity. The shelter housing has been arranged into smaller neighborhoods sharing a central community garden, with input from existing shelter residents during the design phase.

Access Architecture’s design prioritized trauma-informed and universal design principles. This is reflected in features such as rounded corners for safety, intuitive wayfinding, a calming color palette and warm wood accents. A dedicated nursing room is included off the employee breakroom to support staff needs. Large windows allow ample daylight and provide a visual connection to the Gorge landscape. Skylights and clerestory windows bring daylight into the building’s core.

The facility emphasizes sustainability with a 97-kilowatt solar array paired with battery storage, which can generate 115,000 kilowatt-hours annually and offset 138,000 pounds of carbon emissions. This system provides approximately 34 percent energy savings and allows the center to function at 90 percent capacity for up to 48 hours during power outages.

Beyond providing everyday services, The Gloria Center serves as an emergency shelter during extreme weather events.

The project resulted from collaboration between Bremik Construction, Access Architecture, Housing Development Center and MCCAC, with support from the City of The Dalles. MCCAC has operated scattered-site shelters for over a decade, but The Gloria Center now provides these services a permanent home.

During the bidding process, Bremik’s preconstruction team leveraged their local expertise and experience from six other projects in the area to achieve a nearly 50 percent local and 22 percent MWESB firm utilization on this project, including installers and suppliers from within a 25-mile-radius of the project site.