Commissioner Dan Saltzman to propose leasing Terminal 1 site for homeless shelter

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The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services is now marketing its Terminal 1 site for sale.

(City of Portland)

Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman is ready to move forward with a proposed mass homeless shelter along the Willamette riverfront and is angling to get the Portland City Council's approval.

The first week of August, he'll ask the council to allow the housing bureau he oversees to lease the Terminal 1 site, a 14-acre area owned by the Bureau of Environmental Services, he said Thursday. Commissioner Nick Fish, who manages that bureau, has said a homeless shelter is not an appropriate use for the space.

Saltzman is also requesting the council change the city's zoning code in that area, as shelters are not allowed in industrial zones.

His actions represent a step forward for a project pitched by developers Homer Williams and Dike Dame. They initially proposed turning the space into a $100 million-plus homeless campus that would provide around-the-clock shelter and services for up to 1,400 people.

Williams said Thursday he believes the project can be done with $60 million.

It is unclear whether Saltzman will get the votes he needs to get his plan approved. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales strongly supports the plan, but fellow Commissioner Nick Fish is strongly opposed.

Commissioner Steve Novick said in a statement Friday that Terminal 1 isn't "an ideal location," but Williams should get the chance to try and raise enough private money.

"In the absence of other viable alternatives, the real question is, is it better for people to be sleeping in the street than to be sleeping at Terminal 1?" Novick said. "I don't think too many people would answer 'yes' to that question."

William and Dame's lofty plans are based on a homeless facility in San Antonio called "Haven for Hope." They've dubbed Portland's version "Oregon Trail to Hope." Williams set an original goal of collecting about $60 million from businesses and foundations, but now is looking at getting a little more than $30 million from the private side.

Saltzman says he aims to start out on a smaller scale. The proposed lease would last for 18 months and the shelter would house about 500 people initially, he said.

"The need for additional shelter space is tremendous," he said. "And we have the force of the private sector behind us to make something ambitious happen."

Both Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler and Hales have spoken in favor of the project.

"He is fully supportive of the project and advancing it," said Hales' spokeswoman Sara Hottman. "He will do what needs to be done to work with his colleagues to see it advanced."

But Jim Blackwood, a policy director for Fish, said the site "is a great opportunity to get 14 acres of industrial property on the market so we can create good, middle-class jobs."

Last month, the bureau put the site up for sale, and Blackwood said they're expecting bids to come in between $8 million and $12 million. The bureau can accept bids through Aug. 15.

In a June 17 memo, Fish said there's been "significant interest" in the property.

"[We] have made it clear that we will favor offers that meet zoning requirements and can quickly result in family-wage jobs," he said.

In a statement Friday, Fish said he hasn't been briefed on Saltzman's proposal and can't comment on its substance.

"I am frankly shocked that any consideration would be given to concentrating vulnerable members of our community in an aging warehouse on the river," he said in the statement. "I continue to believe, based on the shortage of industrial land, the existing zoning, and the interests of our ratepayers, that we should use this property to promote family-wage jobs."

The same week Saltzman is making his pitch, camping will become "off limits" in the Springwater Corridor, where about 500 homeless people live.

Although the Terminal 1 shelter likely wouldn't be up and running until October, Saltzman said, it's "certainly complementary to the issue of where those 500 people are going to go."

Williams said he is ready to start with an 18-month lease.

"I see it as a pre-game warm up," he said. "We're going to learn some stuff doing it.

- Talia Richman

trichman@oregonian.com

@TaliRichman

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