Mid-Columbia Community Action Council announced Wednesday that it has finalized the purchase of the Oregon Motor Motel, located at 200 W. Second St. in The Dalles, which it will renovate and convert into a 54-room, 100-bed transitional housing shelter.
According to a press release from MCCAC, the purchase and renovation of the was made possible by a $4.27 million grant from Project Turnkey 2.0, a state program that gives communities resources to buy hotels and motels and turn them into shelters. MCCAC applied for the grant in summer 2022 and was awarded the funds through a partnership of the OregonCommunity Foundation, Oregon Housing Community Services, Oregon Legislature and a diverse statewide advisory council.
MCCAC renamed the motel “The Annex,” due to its close connection to the MCCAC Navigation Center, which is scheduled to break ground next month. According to the release, MCCAC is planning nearly $1.5 million in renovations to The Annex, and anticipates renovation will begin immediately. The renovations are expected to conclude in fall 2023, but MCCAC hopes to open The Annex as transitional housing and shelter by the mid-2023.
One of the most noteworthy things about the new shelter is that it will be family-friendly. The Dalles’ existing shelter is unable to house children. Though MCCAC has a hotel voucher program, which prioritizes families with children, they are only for three days at a time. In a November 2022 interview with Columbia Gorge News, MCCAC Executive Director Kenny LaPoint said MCCAC had spent $750,000 on hotel stays in the last year.
The Annex will be staffed around-the-clock 365 days a year, which will include two on-site resident managers and overnight security. It will serve formerly houseless and housing-unstable community members in MCCAC’s three-county service region of Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties.
“The acquisition of the Oregon Motor Motel is a huge win for our communities as the site will provide critical housing and shelter capacity while also revitalizing the entry to the downtown core,” LaPoint said in the press release. “This is such an exciting project that we believe will help reduce houselessness by 50% while also turning a rundown hotel into a community asset.”
The Annex will provide services in partnership with the Mid-Columbia Center for Living, The Next Door, the Oregon Human Development Corporation, Nch’I Wana Housing, the Columbia Gorge Health Council, Bridges to Health, Mid-Columbia Medical Center and Providence Memorial Hospital in Hood River. Each agency will provide on site services to those staying at The Annex as MCCAC works to transition clients into permanent housing.
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