By Marshall Hammond
Central City Concern (CCC), a non-profit agency that serves low income and houseless people in Portland, is close to finalizing plans for a new 70-bed residential treatment center on E Burnside for people experiencing substance use disorders. They expect to start admitting patients by spring of 2025.
While the name of the center is one detail yet to be decided, the mayor’s office announced the location of the center at 1616 E Burnside Ave. earlier this year.
CCC placed the winning bid two days after the building was put up for auction in late 2023, according to a press release from governor Tina Kotek’s office. Within 10 days, CCC, with financial pledges from state, county and city government officials, finalized a purchase agreement. The governor’s office announced the purchase in January.
The building was purchased for $15.5 million and renovations are expected to run between $2.5 and $3 million. Funding for the project comes through a joint effort with the state chipping in $6.25 million, Multnomah County contributing $6 million, the City of Portland another $2 million and $3 million coming from CCC’s own funds.
Before the building was put up for sale it was Lolo Pass, a trendy European-inspired hostel and hotel designed to cater to travelers of various income brackets with both luxury hotel rooms and multi-bunk dorm rooms.
Why Lolo Pass was put up for auction is unclear, but the site has many attributes that make it an ideal spot for a behavioral health center, such as a laundry, kitchen facilities and proximity to mass transportation and several methadone and other outpatient treatment centers.
According to city officials, the new center is desperately needed to fill a gap in Portland’s substance use disorder treatment capabilities. CCC employees told reporters that a significant number of people were going through its detox treatment programs only to be released “onto the streets.” Without a supportive, stable environment to temporarily house and provide services for those fresh out of detox, some were relapsing into their previous drug use patterns. The new center is designed to provide such an environment.
“This program will provide temporary housing and treatment for people experiencing substance use disorders who will benefit from a more structured level of service,” says Andy Mendenhall MD, CEO of CCC. “Medicaid data informed us we needed more of these services, and aligned leadership empowered rapid success with this project.”
The center will be drug and alcohol free and will provide housing and “step down” services to people experiencing drug use disorders. In addition to serving people with acute needs, there will be “community reintegration” services for residents who are progressing in their treatments and need help finding permanent housing or employment. The total expected length of stay for a resident will be six to nine months.
The facility will be operated by 55 full-time employees and staffed 24 hours a day. Residents who leave the facility during their stay will typically be accompanied by staff members or approved recovery support specialists.
The decision to create the center was based on recommendations made by the Portland Central City Task Force, which is composed of state and local community and business leaders with the goal of revitalizing “the economic well-being and future of Portland’s Central City.” The task force is co-chaired by Governor Tina Kotek, Dan McMillan, CEO of Standard Insurance company, and includes Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, County Chair Jessica Vega Peterson and CCC CEO Andy Mendenhall.
The group released a report and list of 10 recommended changes on December 11, 2023 that included “a charge to expand residential substance use disorder treatment services.” According to Mendenhall, those recommendations, which were made public after the bid, led directly to the joint state, county and city decision to fund CCC’s purchase of the building for the new treatment center.
“The urgency and collaboration that made this purchase possible is precisely the kind of leadership this moment demands,” said Governor Kotek. “I want to thank my colleagues at the County and City, as well as Central City Concern and CareOregon for rising to the occasion. See a problem, see a viable solution, run toward it.”
The future site of the CCC treatment center at 1616 E Burnside. Photo by Marshall Hammond.
