The Portland Design Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to approve the Navigation Center, a temporary shelter under construction on Northwest Naito Parkway near the Broadway Bridge. The decision upholds a Type II approval of the project by Bureau of Development Services staff, which Pearl District resident Kurt Sorenson appealed on the grounds that the project fails to meet design guidelines.

The Navigation Center would provide short-term shelter, health services and other assistance for individuals experiencing homelessness. The project comes from nonprofit organization Oregon Harbor of Hope, which is leasing the property from Prosper Portland through Dec. 31, 2023.

At a previous appeal hearing on June 27, commissioners decided not to conduct an official vote but were united 5-0 in a straw poll in favor of approval.  At that time, Sorenson vowed to file a lawsuit against the project.

Commissioners last week said they felt the project fits in well with the neighborhood, and its temporary nature means it doesn’t violate any design guidelines.

“I really appreciate this project’s attempt to do really well,” Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “Thank you very much to the design team.”

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The Portland Design Commission is poised to approve a temporary homeless shelter at the Broadway Bridge, but the appellant said he and other opponents are likely to take the matter to court.

At an appeal hearing Thursday, design commissioners said city design guidelines do not address temporary structures. Nevertheless, commissioners said Oregon Harbor of Hope‘s plan for a Navigation Center in the Pearl District makes efforts toward quality and fitting the surrounding context.

Commissioners did not take a formal vote, but they indicated in a 5-0 straw poll they would approve the Navigation Center. A final vote is scheduled for Aug. 15.

Kurt Sorensen, a Pearl District resident, appealed Bureau of Development Services‘ staff approval of the tent. In a brief interview after the meeting, Sorensen said the commission’s support for the project is to be expected.

“I’m not at all surprised,” he said. “It’s been scripted.”

Sorensen said he will consult with other shelter opponents, but legal action is a distinct possibility. He said he plans to file a lawsuit rather than bring the matter to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

“I’m going to take it straight to circuit court,” he said. “I’m not wasting my time.”

The tent comes from Oregon Harbor of Hope, a nonprofit backed by developer Homer Williams. The Navigation Center would provide shelter and referrals to other services. As in other West Coast cities, Portland’s homeless population has exploded in recent years amid rising housing costs and declining federal support for affordable housing.

Commissioners said the structure would serve its purpose. “I think it‘s going to work just fine, and in five years, it’s gone,” said Don Vallaster.

Harbor of Hope’s lease with Prosper Portland, the public agency which owns the Naito Parkway property north of the bridge, is scheduled to terminate Dec. 31, 2023. Harbor of Hope representatives have said the shelter is not expected to be in use past that date.

Chairwoman Julie Livingston said the tent fits appropriately within the neighborhood.

“For a five-year structure, it fits well within the context of Albers Mill and the bridge,” she said. “Everyone wants it to be a five-story brick structure; it’s not.”

Commissioners declined to reopen the public record, saying further testimony wouldn’t change the outcome.

Livingston said the city needs to provide clear guidelines for temporary structures in the future.

“I would imagine that we’re going to see more temporary structures, and more requests for temporary structures,” Livingston said. “It seems like temporary (structures) somehow needs to be addressed in our guidelines.”

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The Portland Design Commission delayed making a decision Thursday on an appeal of a controversial homeless shelter proposed for the Pearl District.

The commission will reconvene on June 27 after considering recent testimony and evidence, commissioners said. The record will remain closed until then, meaning no additional new evidence will be accepted.

The proposal comes from Oregon Harbor of Hope, a nonprofit founded by developer Homer Williams and others to provide homeless services in Portland. The group has already erected a tent on a vacant lot just north of the Broadway Bridge on Northwest Naito Parkway. The structure would host a shelter and services for homeless individuals who would stay for three to four months. Transition Projects would manage the shelter.

Commissioners struggled with the temporary nature of Oregon Harbor of Hope’s Navigation Center, and whether to apply design standards meant for permanent buildings.

Pearl District resident Kurt Sorensen filed an appeal objecting to city staff approval of the structure. He wrote in the appeal that the shelter did not qualify as a “mass shelter” under Portland code and didn’t satisfy other design guidelines such as unifying design elements, and reinforcing the identity of the Pearl District neighborhood and the waterfront area.

“It isn’t the use; it’s the building,” Sorensen said. “If somebody wanted to put a restaurant in that structure, you wouldn’t approve it. You should apply the same standard.”

The Design Commission’s decision could ultimately come down to whether commissioners apply design guidelines to the tent, or make an exception because of its temporary nature.

Harbor of Hope’s lease with Prosper Portland, the public agency which owns the property, is scheduled to terminate Dec. 31, 2023, and the shelter is not expected to be in use past that date, said Tom Kemper, a real estate professional who is acting as project manager and developer’s representative.

That poses a quandary for design guidelines requiring “quality and permanence” that borders on the metaphysical: What does it mean to be permanent?

Chairwoman Julie Livingston tried a novel approach, suggesting the tent could meet quality and permanence standards if the materials are intended to last until the 2023 termination of the deal.

“For a five-year structure, this is a relatively well-designed structure,” she said.

Livingston added that the guidelines do not state what permanence means.

“There is nothing in the guidelines that places a timeline on permanence,” she said.

Commissioner Andrew Clarke pushed back at that line of reasoning, saying he was unwilling to bend guidelines to “fit a narrative.”

“Permanence to me is permanent,” Clarke said. “It’s there for a long time.”

The Design Commission may be the wrong group to decide the Navigation Center’s future, Commissioner Sam Rodriguez said.

“Frankly, I think it should be before City Council,” he said.

The tent did not meet design guidelines and would not be approved without a condition of approval mandating it be temporary, Rodriguez said.

An appeal of the Design Commission’s eventual decision would go to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, meaning the question could be settled in Salem.

Tiffany Sweitzer of Hoyt Street Properties testified against the tent, saying the proposal should be held to the same standards as other developments. Developer Jim Winkler also testified, saying the proposed tent is “simply not good enough.”

Iain MacKenzie, an architect and blogger, was among the supporters to testify. He pointed to precedents for temporary structures in Portland, including at Portland State University and The International School.

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Plans to build a homeless shelter underneath the Broadway Bridge have been appealed to the Portland Design Commission.

A $1.6 million new construction permit for the Navigation Center was previously issued by the city, and a ceremonial ground-breaking event took place last month. Deacon is set to serve as the general contractor. But now the Design Commission will now hear the appeal on April 18. The appeal was filed Feb. 25 by Portland resident Kurt Sorensen and gives three major reasons for challenging the Type II staff approval, which was finalized just four days prior.

Sorensen contends the project: 1, does not meet the definition of a mass shelter or a temporary use and thus is not exempt from review or entitled to expedited permitting; 2, does not properly fall under authority of the city’s housing emergency declaration; and 3, does not comply with relevant city River District design standards.

“Whether characterized as a mass shelter, a temporary shelter, or a short-term shelter,” Sorensen writes in the appeal, “the proposed navigation center does not meet the code definitions and thus should not be approved.”

Oregon Harbor of Hope, a nonprofit, is looking to build the shelter on a vacant 1.17-acre parcel along Northwest Naito Parkway, slightly north of the Broadway Bridge. The 60-foot-by-150-foot, Quonset-style prefabricated structure would have a fabric membrane tent roof.

The Navigation Center, designed by Opsis Architecture, is intended to house up to 100 men for up to 100 days at a time. Plans call for dormitory-style sleeping facilities, food prep and serving areas, office space, toilets, showers and storage space. Staffers at the facility would help temporary residents “navigate” their way to social services such as mental and physical health care, housing placement and job training.

Plans for the shelter have drawn criticism from neighbors. That includes a pending lawsuit filed last year by Portland developer Jim Winkler over an environmental cleanup plan approved by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

“The objection is not to a shelter,” Sorensen wrote. “It is to a project that is an ad hoc mixture of leased or used prefabricated structures cobbled together in a way that does not respect architectural character and land use within the neighborhood.”

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A homeless shelter and services center backed by developer Homer Williams is on track to open in Northwest Portland as soon as June 1, according to city and county officials.

Oregon Harbor of Hope, led by Williams and Don Mazziotti, will pay $3.5 million for construction and capital costs. The nonprofit received a $1.5 million contribution from Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle in April 2018.

The city of Portland and Multnomah County, through the Joint Office of Homeless Services, will contribute more than $1 million to cover operating expenses.

The shelter will be located on a city-owned vacant lot slightly north of the Broadway Bridge along Northwest Naito Parkway. The 1.17-acre property sits opposite the Albers Mill Building.

In addition to 100 beds, the tent-like Navigation Center, as it’s called, will provide services such as individual assessments and recovery plans, mental health treatment and housing services.

Public officials had struggled to find a location for the Navigation Center.

“It’s difficult and expensive to find and invest in good sites close to the right services,” Williams stated in a news release. “We’re grateful for our deepening partnership with the Joint Office, and we’re excited we can keep working to make a difference in hundreds of lives.”

A 120-bed shelter on Southeast Foster Road is also expected to open this summer.

Public officials have struggled to respond to rising homelessness in Portland and other West Coast cities. In 2017, 79 people died in Multnomah County while homeless.

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Plans for Harbor of Hope‘s temporary housing shelter have been submitted to the Portland Bureau of Development Services for Type II land use review.
The proposed “long-term temporary” shelter, dubbed the Navigation Center, would provide short-term living space and services for up to 100 homeless individuals with the goal of transitioning them to more permanent arrangements. Designed by Opsis Architecture, the 9,000 square foot facility would be built on the northern portion of a 1.97-acre parcel owned by Prosper Portland and located underneath the Broadway Bridge’s west end. The shelter would feature an insulated fabric skin and a secure entryway.
Plans were submitted to the BDS on Dec. 19. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2019.
Developer Homer Williams in 2016 founded Harbor of Hope, which is known for its wide-ranging work on behalf of the homeless and other vulnerable populations. For the Navigation Center, the nonprofit plans to lease the property from Prosper Portland and then build. It has been a focus of Pearl District residents’ attention for over a year now.
A series of public meetings about the project were held earlier in 2018, and despite a lawsuit filed by Portland developer Jim Winkler seeking to stop the project on environmental grounds, plans have pushed forward and now are under review by BDS staff.
Funding for the project will come in part from a $1.5 million personal donation to Harbor of Hope made last year by Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle.

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