News from the Continuum

Revised: December 2018

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

[Originally published under the title, "Developments Downtown."]

"Just a reality of the environment...downtown"

At last night's meeting of the Urban Renewal agency, CB2 Architects presented design plans for a new mixed-use development on the corners of Front and Court Street.  It will use urban renewal funds and bring 40 units of 1 and 2 bedroom rental housing to downtown.  (CANDO officially endorsed this project at its last meeting.)  The response was positive, except the Mayor had a concern:

"I notice that a landscaped plaza is planned for the open area between the two structures and will provide both private and public open space?  Well, being one of the Chairs of the Mid-Willamette Homeless Initiative and dealing with so many of the issues of the homeless in downtown, and the many vagrancy problems that we are facing, I'm concerned about any amount of public space...I'm sure you don't want to build it like a fortress with gates and walls, but as a downtown resident, there are moments when I feel like I would like to live behind gates and walls.  It's just a reality of the environment that we have downtown." 

Hasn't thought about controlling homeless

It seems the Mayor "just wanted to be certain that we weren't imposing upon you a responsibility to provide public space in order to receive grant funds."  In response CB2 said, "We have not put any thought into how we are going to control the homeless people." 

Readers may recall that a couple of folks this past summer set up camp for a few days under the High Street bridge near the Mayor's condo, (bottom), generating a social media controversy and upsetting the Mayor.

910 Front Street NE

Further north on Front Street is an empty cold-storage warehouse that some folks were thinking might be repurposed as a resource center with showers, laundry facilities, meal service and some form of shelter or housing for adults experiencing homelessness.  The building is diagonally just across D Street from the UGM store, where UGM's planning to build its new Men's Mission, which will offer many if not all of the same services being contemplated for the resource center).  (Th Front Street project didn't get beyond the contemplation phase.)

The Center for Hope and Safety is planning to demolish the old Greyhound Bus Station adjacent to its administrative offices at 605 Center St NE, across Church Street from the Macy's parking garage, and construct retail space under a couple of floors of "transitional housing" units.  CHS is hoping the City will assist with the project, probably with CDBG, HOME Investment Partnership or Urban Renewal funds. 

Design concept for CHS project