City proposes 150-bed bridge shelter at site of former Naydenov building in central Vancouver

The city of Vancouver has announced a potential location for its planned 150-bed homeless shelter: a two-story building at 5313 N.E. 94th Ave., in the Van Mall neighborhood.

The 27,224-square-foot building is currently owned by local philanthropist Michael Lynch.

The property is near Orchards West Park and was home to dance and gymnastics facility Naydenov School of Dance.

Interstate 205 separates the property from Orchards Community Park. The Columbian visited that part of the park with city staff two weeks ago and saw about 20 people camping in the wooded area.

The city chose that location because it’s close to services, near a bus line and is zoned commercial, Vancouver Homelessness Response Manager Jamie Spinelli said.

“Of all the properties, of which there aren’t many, this one fits the bill,” she said.

The city plans to purchase the property even if it decides not to use it as a shelter, Spinelli said.

“It is a property that could be utilized for many things, as it has been historically,” she said.

The city has begun outreach to the neighbors and businesses within 1,200 feet of the possible shelter location, according to a news release.

Some neighbors said they’re apprehensive about the potential shelter. But Victor Lopez and his mother, who live in a house directly across the street from the proposed shelter, said they’re not opposed to the plan.

“As long as it helps the homeless, we’re okay with it,” Lopez said. “But if they’re still on the street corner, that doesn’t help the block.”

Lopez said people used to camp in the trees behind their house, but they’ve since moved out. The Columbian saw evidence of camping behind the potential shelter site on Wednesday.

“I hope they do something good with it,” Lopez said.

This fall, city staff will seek community feedback about the property’s feasibility as a shelter site, as well as suggestions for improvements to the bridge shelter — not whether people do or do not want a shelter, Spinelli said.

The city opened a request for proposals Tuesday to identify a qualified service provider to help establish and operate what city staff call the bridge shelter. The provider, which the city would like to be a stakeholder in creating the shelter, would operate it 24/7, according to the news release.

The request for proposals will close Sept. 11.

Vancouver has about 500 people living unsheltered, according to the news release, and not enough shelter beds for all of them.

The shelter is a crucial part of the city’s plan to address homelessness after declaring a civil emergency in November.

“Without more shelter beds, Vancouver will likely continue to experience increasingly harmful impacts of unsheltered homelessness including unsafe living conditions, build-up of solid waste outside and significant demand on emergency services,” Spinelli said in the release.

“Successful bridge shelters create a trauma-informed and service-rich environment that reduces isolation, fosters meaningful connections and community-building, and promotes overall well-being and stability for our unhoused neighbors.”

To access bridge shelter services, people would be required to adhere to a code of conduct outlining expectations for behavior and accountability, according to the news release.

The shelter will have on-site medication-assisted drug treatment, which has proven the most effective way to get people off of fentanyl. The synthetic opioid can cause severe withdrawal symptoms.

Since 2022, more than 100 people have died while homeless in Clark County, according to the city and nonprofits that keep count. Many of those deaths have been due to overdoses from fentanyl — the most prolific and deadly illicit drug on Vancouver’s streets.

In the news release, the city said the shelter’s operator must have strong knowledge of the complexities of substance use disorder, mental health and trauma, and coordinate with the on-site medication-assisted treatment program to address behavioral health issues, especially the impacts of the fentanyl crisis.

Previously, the city estimated acquiring and building the shelter would cost about $16 million. Operating it will take another $6 million to $7 million per year.

Outgoing City Manager Eric Holmes previously said the shelter will be funded entirely from new revenue (possibly a 0.1 percent business and occupation tax on retailers).

Originally, one of the city’s major motivations for creating the bridge shelter was a 2018 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals that said municipalities cannot enforce camping bans if they don’t have shelter beds available. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision recently, but the city has not changed its policy on camping or slow plans for the bridge shelter.