When fire swept through the Santiam Canyon in 2020, it burned down hundreds of homes, including that of Oregon State Sen. Fred Girod of Stayton.
He recalled the fire while speaking at the Friday, Aug. 16, ribbon cutting for HOPE Plaza, an affordable apartment building run by Center for Hope and Safety in downtown Salem. Girod was lucky after the fire, he said, because he had another place to go.
“A lot of people did not have that advantage. And there was a huge uptick in domestic violence,” he said during a speech. “You have to have facilities like this. You just have to give people hope. And that’s the name of this facility. It’s hope.”
The building holds 20 apartments, including 12 studios, four one-bedrooms and four two-bedrooms, all up to Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards. It will house survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking and stalking who will begin moving in this fall.
“A lot of these women sell themselves short. They have to be able to come to a facility like this to get their confidence back, to understand that there’s another avenue for them and that they have a chance to achieve their dreams,” Girod said.
Residents at HOPE Plaza will pay, at most, 30% of their income toward rent, using project-based housing vouchers from the Salem Housing Authority. Utilities, internet and laundry will be provided at no cost to renters.
Residents will be able to take yoga classes, attend support groups and access services like legal aid and food from Marion Polk Food Share.
On the first of three floors, residents will have access to the Hope Builders Boutique with donated clothing, including professional wear for interviews. The expansion will allow the nonprofit to better sort through donations, said Sara Brennan, program manager, in an interview with Salem Reporter.
“We have never had this kind of space to organize and really store things, and then to put them in the boutique where folks can actually go and pick their clothes off hangers in a rack, sorted by size, not just out of a bin as they’re digging. It’s just a completely different feel,” she said.
Six commercial tenants on the first floor will pay reduced rents for their spaces, while providing employment opportunities and services to residents. Sparrow Counseling and Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force have signed leases, and two more spaces will soon be claimed by service providers offering guidance for housing and finances.
Brennan’s personal favorite part of the design is the atrium, an enclosed outdoor space on the second floor of the building which will be open to residents.
“It is bright, it is healing, it’s a lovely space that everyone enjoys walking through,” she said. “They’ll be able to go out and get fresh air in a really safe and surprisingly quiet space.”
Residents will come from the Salem Housing Authority’s waiting list, which is hundreds of people long, Brennan said.
Last year, Center for Hope and Safety responded to over 38,000 contacts from victims and survivors while construction was ongoing.
“While I’m so excited that we have those 20 spots, there’s still a lot of work for our community to do,” Brennan said.
The project, at 454 Church St. N.E., came together with a wide base of community support. Construction on the site began in 2022, and the project had been in the works since 2015 when the center bought the vacant station.
While Center for Hope and Safety Executive Director Jayne Downing spoke at the event, she held on to a necklace given to her by the Warriors of Hope, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde’s domestic violence services provider and a partner in the project.
“What I want you to think about is what it takes to bring something like this all together. It shows a community,” Downing said.
Community, local, state and federal support allowed the $15.8 million project to open debt-free.
Among those Downing thanked was John Shirley of Anderson Shirley Architects, who designed the building for free. Salem based law firm Sherman Sherman Johnnie and Hoyt worked on the legal aspects of the property development pro bono.
She said Greyhound Lines which owned the site and had previously used it for a bus terminal sold the $1.2 million property at a discount, for $650,000.
The city of Salem contributed $707,323 for demolition of the bus terminal and infrastructure improvements, and Marion County contributed $250,000 for infrastructure.
Downing said she could spend all day sharing the contributions from Rich Duncan Construction, including hours of donated time for meetings on the project.
The Oregon Health Authority contributed $1.2 million to support housing for survivors with behavioral health concerns, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The state Legislature directed $700,000 in federal Covid relief funds to the project.
U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden secured $2 million in federal Community Investment Projects funds for the development.
Another $1.2 million in community donations, $600,000 in in-kind support and $870,000 from foundations helped bring the project home, and fully furnish it for renters to move in.
Senator Girod worked with the late Senate President Peter Courtney to secure $7.5 million in lottery bond funding to the project.
Courtney took a bulldozer to the walls of the former Greyhound building to kick-start demolition on the site in 2019. The lot held a special significance for him — it was where he arrived in Salem in 1969 on a bus for a law clerk job.
Downing said that the first time she met with Girod to discuss the project, he listened for about 30 seconds before he said that he was going to work with Courtney to make it happen.
“He made all the difference,” Downing said, voice breaking with emotion. “From the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful.”
Girod said that despite being in different political parties, Courtney had been one of the very first to call him when his home burned down. He considered him a friend, and said that the late senator would agree that this project was something worth advocating for.
“What this building shows is what politics can achieve when we work together,” Girod said, drawing cheers and applause from the audience.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
