The Arbor Lodge Shelter at 1952 North Lombard Street, part of an ongoing shelter expansion by Multnomah County and the Joint Office of Homeless Services, is ready for its long-planned upgrade!
The shelter, which began as a severe weather shelter and then an emergency short-term shelter, will be converted into a long-term, purpose-built shelter. The long-term shelter will prioritize serving people referred from the surrounding community and North Portland.
Starting the week of Oct. 10, 2022, current Arbor Lodge Shelter guests were moved, some into permanent housing. and some into other shelter sites. The site was used as a severe weather shelter during the winter months, and the groundbreaking for the beginning of construction was March 16th, 2023. Construction on the site will begin soon. Security patrols are on-site on a regular basis. Construction is expected to be completed in 2024, when a grand reopening event will be scheduled. The existing outdoor sleeping units have been stored and saved for future use. Shower and restroom trailers have been removed from the site during construction.
A Good Neighbor Agreement is in process, in partnership with the shelter’s operator, Do Good Multnomah, as well as the Joint Office, neighbors of the Arbor Lodge Shelter, and others.
The new, upgraded shelter will include better fencing, interior design improvements and community-led artwork created by local artists. On Aug. 11, 2022, RACC (the Regional Arts and Culture Council) hosted its first in a series of artist selection panel meetings for community-facing public art at the Arbor Lodge Shelter.
The Joint Office worked with a focus group of neighbors and community members to design renovation plans for the high-quality, professionally designed long-term shelter.
The long-term shelter — which the Joint Office is supporting with funds from Multnomah County, the State of Oregon and the Metro Supportive Housing Services Measure — will offer health and housing services. It will be available through reservations only, and open all day, meaning there won’t be lines to get in or large groups of people leaving. Guests will be able keep their beds as long as needed, while they work with case managers to plan their next steps toward permanent housing. It will offer laundry access, storage, restrooms, a kitchen, offices, parking, and indoor and outdoor common spaces.
If you have questions about the construction and the long-term plan for the site, contact the Joint Office.
Background on the Arbor Lodge Shelter:
The Arbor Lodge site was purchased in December 2020 using federal COVID-19 response funding. The facility offered emergency shelter for severe snow, cold and ice in February 2021. Then, during record heatwaves in the summer of 2021, it was used as a 24-hour cooling space, and as a Multnomah County COVID-19 vaccination clinic. In November 2021, the shelter opened as a 24-hour, reservation-only emergency shelter for adults, with a two-stage plan:
- Interim shelter: From November 2021 to October 2022, the site was used as a 24/7 shelter operated by Do Good Multnomah, funded by the Joint Office through Metro Supportive Housing Services dollars, with room for 58 adults inside, plus up to 12 more people in sleeping pods outside, operating on a reservation-basis only. Using it as an interim shelter allowed the building to help shelter people instead of staying empty while design work began on the longer-term shelter.
- Long-term shelter: Renovations will begin in April 2023, after a design process that includes community perspectives. When it opens, the long-term transitional shelter will be reservation-based. It will operate 24/7 with services also provided by Do Good Multnomah, with funding from the Joint Office. The Joint Office will fund renovations with resources from the State of Oregon and the Metro Supportive Housing Services Measure. The Joint Office will use Supportive Housing Services funds to pay for operations at the longer-term shelter.
The long-term transitional shelter is expected to serve at least 80 adults, but that number will likely increase to roughly 100 to 120 people as design, demand for shelter and program considerations permit. Programming at the shelter will support participants as they transition from homelessness to housing. That capacity will include sleeping pods used on the property.
The Joint Office has a record of opening quality shelters in community, near amenities like transit and libraries. These shelters enjoy positive relationships with neighbors, many of whom donate and volunteer.
This page provides interested community members some basic information about the Arbor Lodge site as well as a way to learn more about the developing programming around the site and to stay connected around opportunities to volunteer and support participants.
We believe that just because someone loses their housing, they shouldn’t have to lose their community, too.
View the Frequently Asked Questions about the Arbor Lodge Shelter
If you have a specific complaint about an unsanctioned camp, you can submit a report on pdxreporter.org. If the complaint is specifically about trash that needs to be picked up, submit a report to Metro RID Patrol to have the trash cleaned up.
COMMUNITY DESIGN FOCUS GROUP:
MEETING #1: OCT. 26, 2021
MEETING #2: DEC. 7, 2021
MEETING #3: JAN. 25, 2022
MEETING #4: APRIL 26, 2022
