Plans for a massive homeless shelter at a city-owned warehouse seem to be dead, after Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman said Tuesday he planned to pursue "other options" for winter shelter.
But it was unclear whether Saltzman had killed the proposal in perpetuity or if the idea could resurface -- with the proposal's mastermind, marquee developer Homer Williams, insisting he plans to press on.
Williams won Portland City Council's conditional support for a shelter in August, and Portland's housing director had hoped to finalize a deal last week. But a deal for the facility, at the old Terminal 1 building at 2400 NW Front Ave, was never signed.
Williams said he's still working on plans for a large homeless shelter campus that he will deliver to Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler when he takes office next year.
"This will only happen if our mayor-elect is willing to take over responsibility for homelessness and housing and make it his No. 1 priority," Williams said.
Wheeler said in a statement Tuesday that Williams' idea has "tremendous promise," but a solution will take more than that one site. Wheeler's comments come after he and Portland Commissioner Steve Novick visited a facility in San Antonio that Williams has credited as his inspiration.
"That conversation isn't over. I am committed to determining which elements of the Haven for Hope model -- and other promising models -- are appropriate for Portland," Wheeler said.
On Monday, Williams delivered a proposal that would have turned over operation of the shelter, called Oregon Harbor of Hope, to Ibrahim Mubarak, the co-founder of the Right 2 Dream Too homeless camp on Northwest Fourth Avenue and West Burnside.
Saltzman apparently wasn't impressed. In a statement Tuesday, he indicated the Housing Bureau would move on with shelter efforts at other locations.
"Due to the impending winter weather the city needs to open a winter shelter very soon," he said in the statement. "Unfortunately, Harbor of Hope will not be ready to open its shelter soon enough to meet the city's needs.
Williams said Saltzman's office wouldn't agree to allow Mubarak, who has co-founded two Portland homeless camps, to operate the facility.
Neither Saltzman nor his staff were immediately available to comment on his statement Tuesday night.
The Bureau of Environmental Services, which owns the warehouse, may move forward with plans to sell the building. But that'll only happen if Portland Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees the bureau, "can be reassured this is a deal that is completely broken," policy adviser Jim Blackwood said.
To be ready for winter, Williams was supposed to be ready to house between 100 to 400 people.
Previously, Williams' plan was criticized for being too vague on details. He said it would be privately funded, and said Tuesday he had $300,000 in cash toward the estimated $400,000 needed to operate it. He said he could make the rest up.
-- Brad Schmidt and Molly Harbarger
bschmidt@oregonian.com
503-294-7628
@cityhallwatch