Beaverton’s first permanent emergency shelter is in the works.

The year-round shelter will provide a safe place for people experiencing homelessness to stay and access assistance with housing. Construction crews broke ground on the shelter earlier this month.

The shelter will include space for 60 guests, three meals per day, showers, laundry, clinic space and supportive services available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Housing navigation and supportive services will also be provided, as well as a dedicated clinic space. The site will add capacity to Washington County‘s growing shelter program, which currently offers more than 400 beds in the county, according to a press release.

The 12,000-square-foot building, at 11380 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, is in a business area, centrally located near transit and within walking distance to grocery stores and social service agencies. The city owns the building that is being renovated for the shelter, City of Beaverton spokesperson Dianna Ballash stated in an email.

Open Door HousingWorks was selected to operate the shelter through a contract with Washington County. Ink: Built Design designed the project for the city. The project team also includes KPFF for civil engineering, Studio Wild Landscape Architecture for landscape design, PCS Structural Solutions for structural engineering and P&C Construction as the general contractor.

“The shelter will be built with an emphasis on trauma-informed and sustainable design, including natural materials, calming light controls, inclusive furniture and abundant natural light,” Ballash stated.

Trauma-informed design principles implemented through the design include clear wayfinding, a folding area with seating outside of laundry space with windows for visual access of the laundry area, flexible spaces, covered and uncovered private outdoor areas, individual beds (not bunk beds), a calming color palette, amenities and provisions for pets, and more.

The project is on track to achieve Energy Trust of Oregon‘s Path to Net Zero. Sustainable features include the reuse of the existing building and concrete flooring, a solar array that will supply 22 percent of the shelter’s energy, EV charging station, no fossil fuels (except emergency generator), all electric appliances, low flow plumbing fixtures, all LED lighting fixtures, additional daylighting with an added skylight and solar tubes, and more.

Amenities include a kitchen, showers, an enclosed landscape backyard with covered structure, individual sleeping pods, a coordinated care space for mental and physical health, and flexible spaces for group or individual support.

The shelter is made possible through availability of new funding sources for shelter acquisition and operations through $5 million from the voter-approved Supportive Housing Services measure. The city of Beaverton is also expecting to receive approximately $9 million in state and federal funding, including American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The total project cost is $11.9 million, including the purchase of the building.

Intake will be by enrollment through Community Connect, the Washington County coordinated entry system. Case managers will be able to help their clients enroll and there will be a central phone number for unhoused community members to call.

The shelter will be an adult shelter for guests 18 and older. Families with children will be referred to other partner agencies in Beaverton/Washington County, according to the project’s website.

The new shelter is expected to open in late summer 2024.

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North Dakota-based Brandt Hospitality Group appears to be moving forward with plans to build a pair of hotels on 6.91 acres of property in Beaverton, a bit south of the intersection of U.S. Route 26 and Northwest Cornell Road.

The Beaverton Planning Commission last month voted unanimously to approve plans for a project that calls for construction of two Marriott-branded hotels, the AC and the Element, on property that consists of three separate tax lots. Combined, the hotels would offer 224 rooms. A pair of separate restaurants, one 5,600 square feet and another 4,700 square feet, also would be built.

“This is a very, very good project,” Commissioner Gerry Uba said during the July 25 meeting. “It’s good for our city, it’s good for the area, and as fellow commissioners have said, I personally like the design. They improved the design, with all the changes, including the parapets and the color changes. It’s just beautiful.”

On Aug. 17, the Planning Commission’s approval became final because no appeals were filed. Brandt Hospitality Group may now finalize design and apply for building permits. Previously, during a meeting in June, commissioners requested a number of revisions to the design.

“Looking at your revised drawings and considering where we were nearly a month ago, I think you guys have done a nice job in responding to our concerns,” Commissioner Terry Lawler said during the July meeting. “I think it’s a really advanced design.”

The site, shaped somewhat like a pork chop, is bounded by Northwest 158th Avenue, Greenbrier Parkway and Blueridge Drive. The property is zoned for industrial and commercial uses, and sits near buildings occupied by Columbia Sportswear, Body and Face Solutions, Nike and Papa’s Pizza.

Concept plans drawn up by North Dakota-based ICON Architectural Group were presented to commissioners by Brandon McDougald, a LEED Accredited Professional with Kimley-Horn of Salt Lake City. The drawings show two four-story hotel buildings, each with a distinctive, branded entryway.

The AC Hotel will occupy the northernmost portion of the site, and offer 117 rooms. The Element will take up the southwest portion, and offer 107 rooms. The two restaurant pads would sit in the southeast corner.

Based on city requirements, there will be approximately 333 vehicle parking spaces and 16 covered bike parking spaces.

The AC Hotel will be rectangular and have light-colored stucco exterior cladding. The entryway will be a darker gray and feature a prominent bump-out feature.

The Element, meanwhile, will be L-shaped and also features prominent bump-outs. But in contrast to its neighbor, this entryway will be slightly recessed.

Several commissioners asked McDougald about existing or future plans for the restaurants.

“There is some question as to the timing of when those restaurants will be built,” he replied. “But the developer does have the LOI from two restaurants they’re talking to right now, so we don’t anticipate construction of those restaurants will trail too far behind the hotels.”

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