Street Roots •
August 12-18, 2016
The murky future of Terminal 1
n June, I wrote about a new proposal by
truly commit to curbing homelessness,
developers Homer Williams and Dike
developers would have much more of an impact
Dame. The original idea was a $100 million
with $100 million to build affordable housing
plan to build space for 700 new shelter beds throughout the city.
and create 700 beds in dormitory-style housing
Much of the business community is at a
— $60 million of which they had agreed to
crossroads when it comes to the issue of the
raise. The other $40
housing crisis. It’s a new era in Portland, and
million would need to be
many people are being left behind. It’s real.
raised by government.
The scale of people suffering or being
The location that was
displaced is enormous. People’s wages are
identified by the
lagging and the cost of housing is skyrocketing.
developers is Terminal 1,
We need radical housing reform in Oregon,
By Israel Bayer
an industrial warehouse in
including tenant protections, rent control and
Northwest Portland next to other methods to protect residents who are
the Willamette River.
simply struggling to survive. The need for
In the short time since,
more affordable housing is a given at this point.
the plan has changed significantly. Now it’s
Several questions arise from the current
unknown how much money will be raised and if proposal.
any government money will go toward the
How do two wealthy developers walk into
proposal. The number of beds planned for the
City Hall and begin to drive public policy in a
shelter has been scaled back from 1,400 to 400
way that has zero accountability? I
total.
suppose money does talk. Still, I
Let’s be clear. We aren’t talking
can’t think of a time when so much
about a shelter in a traditional
I can't think of political capital was spent on an
sense. We’re talking about an
a time when so idea without a clear strategy or
industrial warehouse that would be
much political plan on how to accomplish the
potentially outfitted with porta-
goals set forth.
capital was
potties and propane heaters.
Moreover, it’s unclear what the
It’s been speculated that anyone spent on an idea project’s goals actually are. Some
from Right 2 Survive (the
without a clear advocates have argued it’s the best
organization behind the Right 2
strategy or plan we’re going to get given the
Dream Too rest stop), to other
circumstances. Politicos argue it’s
on how to
homeless advocates, to a traditional
a housing emergency and
accomplish
the
shelter provider would actually run
everything must be on the table.
g
o
als
set
fo
rth
.
the facility. Nobody really knows.
There’s no question we have a
The details are murky.
humanitarian crisis with thousands
That’s why it came as somewhat
of people on the streets.
of a surprise that City
On one hand we have a system
Commissioner Dan Saltzman and
that is increasing enforcement and
the Portland Housing Bureau decided to come
criminalization efforts. On the other hand we
forward with a proposal and vote to transfer
have a system that is screaming “uncle” and
the industrial land from the Bureau of
saying they care about the people and the
Environmental Services to the Housing Bureau
answer is now to put those people into a mass
with the purpose of using it as a temporary
shelter.
shelter.
We do need organized camps in our city. It’s
The proposal is half-baked at best.
not that it’s ideal - it’s simply a reality. Having
The site poses several problems, including
a mass shelter on industrial land isn’t an
environmental concerns, transportation issues
organized camp. It’s an attempt to centralize
and the zoning permits that it would require to
the problem and move people out of sight,
turn the land from industrial use to essentially
especially from along the Springwater Corridor
mass residential.
and a gentrifying Old Town.
It’s also unclear how one might go about
It would be easy to go along with the wave of
managing a site of 400 vulnerable individuals
political support to create shelter by any means
and families on the streets. That’s a big lift.
necessary.
Some traditional social services have balked at
Fortunately, Street Roots learned a long time
the idea, saying that any investment by wealthy
ago
that getting swept away in the moment or
developers should go directly to increasing the
being influenced by money isn’t the answer to
affordable housing stock that’s necessary to
solving homelessness. All that matters to
move people off the streets.
Street Roots is supporting the best outcomes
A loose band of homeless advocates have
for people on the streets.
come together to determine the best way
Saying all that, if, after overcoming the many
forward given the circumstances.
hurdles the project faces, including raising
I talked with Homer Williams and
money free of tax dollars and legal challenges,
consultants for more than an hour last month
the project is still standing, it’s Right 2 Survive
about the project Seeing a major contribution
that can make it happen. I believe with all my
from the business community like this is
heart that Right 2 Survive has the best
fantastic. Obviously, having someone like
interests of people on the streets in mind.
Homer come forward to motivate people to
They live it, every single day.
take action is amazing. Saying that, the devil is
It’s a tall mountain to climb, no question,
in the details.
under the microscope of the media and
Building a massive shelter with one-time
entangled in a political environment that is
private investments is one thing, but with no
explosive. Whether the project is successful or
long-term plan, short of hanging it around the
not, we’ll still find ourselves in the same
city’s neck as another ongoing funding
situation. It’s housing and housing alone that
obligation and resource liability, it’s reckless.
will end people’s homelessness. We’ve got our
Street Roots’ recommendation at the time
work cut out for us.
was that if the business community wanted to
I
DESK
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him. a t
israel@streetroots. org
o r follow h im on
Twitter @israelbayer.
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