Portland housing leaders celebrate groundbreaking for The Joyce rehabilitation project

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Downtown affordable housing property The Joyce was celebrated on Monday, February 28, at a groundbreaking ceremony kicking off the building’s renovation.

After the renovation, , formerly Joyce Hotel, will provide 66 units of permanent supportive housing, including first-floor mental health services at 322 S.W. 11th Ave.

“This is an exciting groundbreaking. We’ve all come together for the greater good, which is what we’re supposed to do in a crisis,” said Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan at the groundbreaking ceremony. “We’ll bring services to the first floor. We didn’t want this block to not have retail on the first floor. We have a homelessness crisis, but also have a mental health crisis. This project connects the dots and brings services to people.”

A four-story historical building, The Joyce rehabilitation project is being developed by nonprofit Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH). The project is intended to transform a long-vacant building into a beautiful downtown affordable housing community.

“We are committed to turning the former Joyce Hotel, which was known as housing of last resort, into a place of opportunity, hope and healing,” said Rachel Duke, executive director of CPAH. “The need for housing has never been greater.”

The units will be affordable for residents at 30% of area median income or below, who have project-based Section 8 vouchers. Resident services will be on-site, as will mental health services, and a community room amenity that can be reserved at no cost for residents.

Andrea Bell, acting executive director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, said OHCS works across the housing continuum from preventing and ending homelessness to homeownership financing support.

“Revitalizing this historic building in downtown Portland will allow new communities to blossom and thrive with the resources they so desperately need,” Bell said at the groundbreaking. “The Joyce exemplifies the compassion and commitment of all our partners and community members to provide safe and stable housing to our most vulnerable neighbors and friends.”

Bell said OHCS has a goal of creating 1,000 units of permanent supportive housing and 25,000 affordable rental homes, and The Joyce renovation helps support that goal by providing 66 units.

Shannon Callahan, director of the Portland Housing Bureau, said the groundbreaking celebration for The Joyce is a major milestone in the project’s re-envisioning.

“When the Bureau purchased the Joyce Hotel our goal was to stabilize its existing residents, and completely renovate, restore and preserve it for the next 100 years,” Callahan said at the groundbreaking.

A representative from Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s office read a statement from him at the ceremony as well.

“Organizations like Community Partners for Affordable Housing have stepped up to address this crisis taking an innovative approach: repurposing and revitalizing historic Portland buildings, like The Joyce, to create permanent supportive housing. This not only helps vulnerable Portlanders but preserves our community’s history,” Blumenauer said in the statement. “We need to prioritize permanent supportive housing, the full utilization of Housing Choice Vouchers, expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and other proven solutions that get people housed and off the street.”

Architectural and design aspects of the rehab began for The Joyce in October 2019, with a grand opening and leasing opportunities slated for spring 2023. Carleton Hart Architecture and Bremik Construction are working on the project.

Funding for the estimated $21 million project comes from the Portland Housing Bureau, Portland’s Housing Bond, Red Stone Equity Partners, Oregon Housing and Community Services, Multnomah County, Home Forward, and the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

On-site support services including wellness activities, care coordination and crisis intervention on the property will be supported in partnership with Cascadia Behavioral Health, Cascade AIDS Project, and the Native American Rehabilitation Association NW.