Terminal 1 and Homeless Shelter Update
Posted on October 27, 2016 by Janice Thompson
Tags, Water/Wastewater
All indications are that there will not be a homeless shelter at the Terminal 1 site after all. Here is a quick recap of this issue and an update.
Terminal 1 is a warehouse in industrial Northwest Portland along the Willamette River. After completing the Big Pipe project, the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) put the property up for sale. While the Portland City Council initially approved selling Terminal 1, they narrowly voted to stop that sales process in August 2016 and, instead, approved a proposal by developer Homer Williams to use the warehouse as a homeless shelter.
CUB testified before City Council urging that BES receive a fair rental rate. CUB was also concerned that the Council’s reversal of the agreement to sell Terminal 1 would undermine confidence in the City’s process to sell surplus property and reduce bids from potential future buyers to the detriment of BES ratepayers. Indeed, there were indications back in August that bids may have come in lower than anticipated for Terminal 1 and some bids were not submitted due to the Council’s change in course. Mr. Williams’ proposal also heightened these concerns, because it lacked key details.
CUB’s first concern was addressed by an October 7 deadline in the lease between BES and the Housing Bureau, the City agency working with Mr. Williams. However, the Housing Bureau did not want to sign that lease until it had more details from Mr. Williams, but he was slow in providing a more definitive proposal.
Finally, on October 24, Mr. Williams provided additional details to the Commissioner in charge of the Housing Bureau, Dan Saltzman. The proposal was evidently underwhelming, particularly concerning management of the Terminal 1 shelter. News coverage indicates that Commissioner Saltzman has pulled the plug on a homeless shelter at Terminal 1.
Reportedly, Commissioner Fish now wants to reopen the bid process in hopes that potential buyers who may have declined to bid after the Council’s August decision to stop the sales process will return. This may require Council action so the timing of this next step isn’t clear yet.
It’s too bad more due diligence on this proposal didn’t occur earlier, but CUB hopes that the Council’s stopping and then restarting the sale of Terminal 1 doesn’t hurt the bid process to the detriment of BES ratepayers. If there are new twists and turns in this story we will keep you posted and continue to advocate for BES customers.
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12/27/16 | 0 Comments | Terminal 1 and Homeless Shelter Update