Multnomah County has picked a location for its permanent sobering center in inner Southeast Portland.

The county said in a release on Thursday that the location, 1901 SE Grand Ave. where the Casa bella Granite showroom and warehouse are housed, meets its key criteria, which includes: adequate space for services, no schools within 1,000 feet, being centrally located and with easy access to hospitals.

The plan is to purchase the building, according to county officials.

When it opens, law enforcement and first responders will be able to drop people off 24/7 for “sobering and crisis stabilization services.” The location, which is over 24,000 square feet, will have “up to 50 beds offering a combination of sobering and withdrawal management services,” according to the release.

“This center is critical to our successful partnership with law enforcement and will expand options for engagement in our shared work to provide safer streets and a better pathway away from them,” said County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson in a statement.

This facility will eventually replace the Coordinated Care Pathway Center at 900 SE Sandy Blvd., which opened last October as part of the county’s deflection program rollout. The building selection drew concerns due to its close proximity to a preschool, as well the county’s quick opening timeline.

According to the release, county staff have “begun conversations with the local business and neighborhood associations about the planned purchase” of the sobering center, and how the county plans to operate it. The framework includes developing a good neighbor agreement and committee, as well as a planned community meeting “as soon as this March,” according to the county.

“I plan to be very engaged in ensuring the center’s success and committed to ensuring the center is a good neighbor,” said Commissioner Meghan Moyer, whose district includes the planned sobering center, in a statement. “I am honored to have the sobering center in my district.”

The county is working to find a general contractor, and service providers to operate the sobering center, according to the release. No opening date has been set yet.

This spring, the deflection center on Sandy will add 13 beds to increase capacity while the sobering center is being constructed.

“Since my first day in office, I have heard from first responders the urgent need for more options for people intoxicated on the streets, beyond taking people to the emergency room, to jail or leaving them on the street,” said County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards in the release.

“Bringing sobering beds online this spring in the Pathway Center, and today announcing a site for a permanent sobering and crisis stabilization center are significant steps forward in community safety and livability.”

The county’s previous sobering center, which was primarily used for alcohol detoxification, closed in 2019 due to an increase in substance use that the facility wasn’t able to support, namely opioids and methamphetamine.

According to the county, the new center will have the capacity to offer sobering and withdrawal management services for multiple substances, as well as medication-assisted treatment.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/01/09/multnonah-county-new-sobering-center/