January 25, 2022 4:00 a.m.

The City of Roseburg is buying property for an emergency shelter and navigation center, after the City Council approved the purchase at their Monday night meeting.

A City release said the 7,423 square foot building at 948 Southeast Mill Street will be used as a low-barrier facility with services for unhoused clients. Escrow is expected to close in about two months. The building is being purchased from the United Community Action Network for $270,000.

Since last summer City Manager Nikki Messenger, Assistant City Manager Amy Sowa, Mayor Larry Rich and Councilor Shelley Briggs Loosely have considered 16 properties throughout Roseburg after the state provided $1.5 million for a navigation center.

The Roseburg Homeless Commission recommended the purchase of the Mill Street property. The building is divided into office space, conference rooms, a kitchen and restrooms.

The release said the center is expected to open by the end of June, most likely with pallet shelters in the parking lot and wrap-around social services in part of the building, while the rest is remodeled. Grant funding may be applied for to retrofit the interior for communal or “congregate” sheltering. The Public Works Department will manage the remodeling to save money.

The goal of the facility would be to stabilize unhoused people with temporary, transitional shelter and provide case-managed supportive services to help those individuals transition into independent, self-sufficient lives.

The release said the next steps in the process would be for the city to enter into an operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit or agency, and then hold discussions about the center’s operations with neighboring property owners and the community.