Wapato Corrections Facility

Wapato Corrections Facility (also known as the Wapato Detention Facility, and colloquially Wapato Jail) is a homeless shelter that was originally built as a Multnomah County jail in 2003 in the heavy industrial area of St. Johns neighborhood of Portland. It has never been put into service and has been kept vacant, but preserved from construction until August 2020. In August 2020, it has been dedicated as a homeless shelter and it will be opening in September 2020.

Wapato Corrections Facility
LocationPortland, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates45.626°N 122.757°W / 45.626; -122.757
StatusClosed
Security classMinimum
Capacity510
Population0

History

The Wapato Detention Facility[1] was funded in 1996 by a bond measure defined by Multnomah County Commissioners in Resolution 96-122,[2] and promoted by District Attorney Mike Schrunk and law enforcement as a response to Measure 11. The facility in St.Johns neighborhood[3] built by the Hoffman Construction Company[4] has sat empty since construction halted in 2003.[5] In March 2017, a California based developer offered $10 million for the property.[5] In November 2017 Multnomah County commissioners voted to sell Wapato to Kehoe Northwest Properties for $10.8 million.[6] On April 12th, 2018 a hearing was held to in which an alternative offer from Kehoe of $5 million was approved.[7] The proceeds from the sale of Wapato were then marked to be used to create permanent housing.[8]

As of April 17, 2019 the property is owned by developer Jordan Schnitzer[9] and is estimated to have a value of $8.7 million.[7] Budget limitations prevented the county from opening the facility and it has never housed an inmate, getting only incidental use such as for movie shoots. It has since become infamous, being featured by media such as CNN's Anderson Cooper.[10][11]

Repurposing

In 2015 a petition was created online to refit the facility to house the homeless[12] and in August 2016 Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith also further supported the effort.[13] After the sale of the jail to Jordan Schnitzer he also received offers to convert Wapato to a homeless shelter and rejected them because of "cost and distance from other public services".[14]

In April 2019, a proposal was made by Kay Toran, who has been the president of Oregon Volunteers of America since 1999, to create a residential treatment program at the facility for adults experiencing addiction and mental health problems. The proposal received support from Schnitzer who called it "fabulous". Before the proposal, Schnitzer had considered using the site as a warehouse for one of his businesses, Harsch Investment Properties. Toran says that if the plan does not receive funding support in the next few years it would likely not be doable.[9]

In October 2019, Schnitzer announced that the plans to convert the facility into a community wellness center to serve the local homeless population had fallen flat. He cited low funding for renovation and a lack of support from elected officials and homeless advocacy organizations in drawing this conclusion. As such, he said, the facility would likely be demolished by the end of 2019.[15]

In February 2020 that Wapato jail is on track to be renovated into a 228-bed homeless facility with expected opening of September 2020. $4 million US in funds have been raised so far, which is enough to operate it for two years without any structural changes.[16] In May 2020, the building's owner signed a lease with Bybee Lakes Hope Center for this purpose.[17]

The facility is located in the heavy industrial, aircraft landing zone overlay area. Previously land use regulations prevented its use as a homeless shelter.[18]

Wapato facility has been dedicated as a homeless shelter on August 12, 2020 and it is scheduled to open in September 2020.[19]

Emergency temporary facility for COVID-19 patients

Local media outlets reported on March 19th 2020 that the facility owner Jordan Schnitzer and the Oregon Health Authority are in discussion about opening up the facility as a treatment center for COVID-19 Coronavirus patients who need in-patient care, but do not need ICU care. Schnitzer commented that he hoped to have the facility ready for this purpose by the end of March, 2020.[20][21]

  • Inside the facility during a tour in December, 2019
  • Alarm indicator panel
  • Wapato Jail corridor
  • Wapato Correctional Facility upper floor
gollark: I think mine is in some generic cheap Corsair cuboid.
gollark: I... still don't actually have much of a preference.
gollark: I see. Well, I have basically no opinion on this.
gollark: What are the pros and cons of each?
gollark: Oh, did you experience an orbital bee strike?

References
  1. "Wapato Detention Facility". Multnomah County. n.d. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. "Resolution 96-122 1996/1997 Fund Structure" (PDF). Multnomah County. 11 July 1996.
  3. Spitz, Enid (November 12, 2015). "Look Inside St. Johns' Unoccupied Jail". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  4. Scopel, Lee (December 14, 2001). "Construction moves forward on jail". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. Allan, Brettman (2017-03-31). "California developer offers $10 million for Wapato". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  6. "Multnomah County votes to sell Wapato Jail for $10.8M". Portland Business Journal. November 9, 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  7. "Regular Board Meeting - Apr 12th, 2018". 12 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. "Multnomah County sells Wapato Jail, proceeds go to permanent housing". Multnomah County. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  9. Peterson, Danny (17 April 2019). "Toran Offers a Plan for Wapato". The Portland Observer. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  10. Simon, Dan (March 24, 2006). "Jailbreak: $58 million prison sits empty". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  11. "New Election Poll Out; Defending the U.S.-Canada Border". CNN.com Transcripts. June 16, 2006.
  12. Steele, Tim (28 December 2015). "County: Empty Wapato Jail no Place for Homeless". KOIN 6 News. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  13. Smitth, Loretta (25 August 2016). "Commissioner Loretta Smith wants Wapato open "today"". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  14. Peterson, Danny (April 17, 2019). "Toran Offers a Plan for Wapato". The Portland Observer. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  15. Zielinski, Alex (October 11, 2019). "Developer Jordan Schnitzer Admits Wapato Jail Will (Probably) Be Demolished by 2020". Portland Mercury. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  16. Sparling, Zane (February 29, 2020). "Bybee Lakes Hope Center on track to open this year". Portland Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  17. Redden, Jim. "Wapato: Owner signs lease for Bybee Lakes Hope Center". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  18. "Wapato Detention Facility". Multnomah County. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  19. Vespa, Maggie (August 12, 2020). "Portland's Wapato Jail rededicated as homeless shelter". kgw.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  20. "Wapato jail, the future Bybee Lakes Hope Center, offered up as COVID-19 treatment center". KPTV.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  21. "Schnitzer, OHA talking about Wapato for COVID-19 patients". KOIN.com. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
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