The Gloria Center
DEVELOPMENT SCOPE
New construction of a navigation center and emergency shelter serving Hood River, Sherman, and Wasco counties.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Gloria Center is a regional navigation center (social service hub) for low-income community members of Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties. It houses offices and service facilities for project sponsor Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) and key project partners Oregon Human Development Corporation, Mid-Columbia Center for Living, One Community Health, Nch’I Wana Housing, and Bridges to Health. Community members can visit the navigation center to access housing, behavioral and physical healthcare, and other services, all under one roof. A large community room is used for classes and gatherings and provides emergency cooling or heating to local residents in case of extreme weather.
Adjacent to the navigation center, a non-congregate emergency shelter (18 free-standing Pallet shelters) provides refuge from winter cold, summer heat, and air-quality events to individuals experiencing homelessness. Equipped with a solar array, battery storage system, and natural gas generator, the entire facility can continue to operate at 90% functionality for 48 hours in the event of a power outage.
Creative Solutions
Design and Construction. MCCAC originally planned to develop The Gloria on the site of a hotel converted to veterans housing near downtown the Dalles. The project transitioned when MCCAC acquired a second site, donated by a local family, which was better suited to the navigation center program. MCCAC redeveloped the former hotel to provide transitional housing and emergency shelter to homeless individuals, while simultaneously working with its Gloria Center partners to develop the second site into a multi-use complex. To speed construction and reduce costs, the team designed a pre-engineered metal structure to house the navigation center. General contractor Bremik Construction succeeded in hiring a large number of local and MWESB-certified subcontractors to help complete extensive groundwork, structural assembly, and finish work. More than 50% of the subcontracted construction budget went to local firms, and 22% to MWESB-certified firms.
Finance. The six partner agencies cobbled together funding from multiple public and private sources, setting a goal of minimizing project debt to ensure sustainable operations. The MCCAC finance team secured a Community Renewable Energy Program (CREP) grant from the Oregon Department of Energy to install the 97kW solar array and battery. The solar array will produce 115,000 kWh of power annually, resulting in a total carbon offset of 138,000 pounds and an estimated 34% energy savings to the facility.
Photos by David Papazian
SPONSOR
Mid-Columbia Community Action Council
LOCATION
The Dalles, Oregon
HDC ROLE
Financial structuring and construction management
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
→ Access Architecture
→ Bremik Construction
→ City of The Dalles
→ Wasco County
→ Oregon Housing and Community Services
→ Oregon Health Authority
→ Oregon Department of Energy
→ Ford Foundation
FUNDING SOURCES
→ American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds
→ State of Oregon special appropriations
→ Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) funds
→ Private grants
→ Partner capital contributions
SQUARE FEET
Total: 9,837
COST
Construction: $6.8 million
Total Development: $8.7 million
TIMELINE
Fall 2021 to Spring 2024