A Northwest Portland building previously used by a commercial flooring company is being renovated to become the new headquarters of Sunshine Division, which provides food and clothing to people in need. Crews began work earlier this month and are expected to finish next spring.

Mackenzie is the project architect and R&H Construction is the general contractor. Construction is estimated to wrap up by March 1.

The total project cost is estimated at $11.75 million and includes acquisition, the remodel, equipment, and debt. Sunshine Division still needs to raise about $3.5 million. The project is 100 percent funded by individual private donors and local companies.

The approximately 39,000-square-foot building, at 2121 N.W. Front Ave., will serve as the nonprofit’s headquarters, a volunteer center, and a distribution site. Slightly less than half will be office space; the rest will be warehouse space.

Sunshine Division will move out of the building at 687 N. Thompson St. next year, said Kyle Camberg, the nonprofit’s executive director. The building, constructed in 1929, has served the organization for nearly 50 years. A local family that owns a few warehouses has already purchased the building; Sunshine Division is leasing it until the new headquarters is ready.

“It’s a very humble, old warehouse that we made do of because we had to,” Camberg said.

Sunshine Division also owns a food pantry at 12436 S.E. Stark St. That eight-year-old facility will remain open.

Since 2020, Sunshine Division has located its growing warehouse operations in vacant grocery store space (for free, thanks to Safeway/Albertsons) – first in Northeast Portland and currently in Wilsonville – while looking for a permanent facility. The nonprofit bought the Northwest Portland building late last year from Floor Solutions – the owner and primary tenant – for $7.9 million, Camberg said.

The renovation includes work to tailor the warehouse for the organization’s needs, make it more public-facing, and remodel office space. Planned upgrades for the facility include new racking and forklifts, cold storage units and modest finishes to existing offices and spaces that will hold the food pantry and volunteer area.

There was some demolition of partition walls. Currently, racking is being installed, and cold storage space is being constructed.

“The portion that is standard corporate offices will pretty much remain that for our staff,” Camberg said. “We’re also making a volunteer welcome center.”

The welcome center will be named after longtime volunteer Bud Lewis, who died a few years ago. This area will provide space for volunteers to store their bags and enjoy coffee.

The last portion of the work will be updating the lobby space into an open area for the public to check in and place orders.

The new warehouse will provide a 140 percent increase in food storage capacity, according to Sunshine Division. The downtown property will have vehicle parking and be easily accessible via transit. Multiple loading docks will allow for efficient food intake and distribution to community partners. Also, the site can accommodate future expansion if needed.

The past five years have proved how critical this facility is to the city, Camberg said, noting that the organization continues to see extraordinary spikes in need of emergency food.

“We’re super appreciative of everyone who has helped get us this far,” he said.

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