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Warming Center Had Nothing To Do With Goodman

A recent WW article ["Randyland Part II," Nov. 18, 2009] mentioned my decision to locate the city's warming center for homeless adults at the Convention Plaza Building in the central eastside, implying that the decision was influenced by political pressure from Greg Goodman, who owns properties near the Fairfield Hotel, one of the other sites considered.

As the housing commissioner and lead for homelessness issues for the City of Portland, I wanted to share with WW the factors that went into my decision. Plain and simple, the Convention Plaza Building was the best site available to us.

The city and Transition Projects Inc. (TPI), the operator of the shelter, decided on the location after considering several other possible sites, including the Fairfield Hotel.

We chose the Convention Plaza site over the Fairfield Hotel site for several reasons:

It had greater capacity—90 people vs. a max of 70 at the Fairfield.

It required the least amount of site improvements at city expense and was virtually ready to go without city investment. (By contrast, the Fairfield would have required at least $15,000 in rehab to provide adequate restroom capacity—a relative waste for five months' use.)

Convention Plaza's space is configured in a way that provides increased privacy, allowing TPI to serve couples for the first time.

Neighborhood resistance often surfaces regarding decisions we make to site affordable housing and shelter. It played no part in our decision, which was made for the practical reasons listed above.

The Winter Warming Center at Convention Plaza is now open and is providing critical overnight emergency shelter for Portland's homeless.

Nick Fish
Commissioner, City of Portland

WWeek 2015