Dear Friends,
It’s finally the time for us to start building Third Street Commons! We have weathered a year-long delay due to additional environmental testing requirements, but have addressed the issues and are planning to start construction in early February!
Some things to note:
The first phase of construction will include demolition and then prepping the site for building, which will involve a lot of rocking and earthwork. The site has been pretty ugly for a bit, but we tried to recycle and repurpose as much of the building materials as we could to reduce waste. The windows, roofing, doors, cabinets, HVAC, and some of the bathroom fixtures have been taken and used by neighbors, some of our staff and other community members, and taken to various donation sites in the area.
We also did the best we could to sell some of the items at the site. Sustainability is important to us as is reducing waste. The current buildings were either not elevated out of the floodplain, or not accessible or appropriate for the people we intend to serve. We are excited to have a new site that will utilize the space more efficiently and offer more housing to people in need.
Starting in late March/April, there will likely be signs of building activity. We estimate the building process to take close to a year and a half. During this time, we will be revising our operations plans, meeting with partners to affirm their commitments to the site, hiring staff and training them, as well as working with partners to do intake for future residents. People who will qualify for housing at Third Street have to have a history of chronic homelessness, have a disabling condition, and are otherwise in need of support to stay in housing. Rent vouchers are tied to the site, and cannot be used at other sites, which will be an important consideration for future potential residents.
We still need your help! We are officially a third of the way to our goal of raising a million dollars from the community to help pay for furnishing the new site and other building expenses. If you are interested in making a contribution, please go to our donation page or contact us for more information.
Thanks so much to Business Oregon and Oregon Housing and Community Services in assisting us in funding the additional construction costs due to environmental testing and mitigation.
Thank you again for your support!
Andrea Myhre
Executive Director
Corvallis Housing First