Two years after the Portland Housing Bureau purchased the Joyce Hotel, a low cost housing option for homeless and low-income residents, the city is moving forward with plans to redevelop the property.
Martha Calhoun, a spokesperson for the Bureau, said the agency has selected Shiels Obletz Johnsen to be the owner’s representative.
“We are beginning work with them on next steps, starting with a solicitation for design services, which we expect to put out in the next month or two.”
Next week the Housing Bureau will start temporary exterior work to improve the appearance of the building. These fixes should also help better secure it, Calhoun said.
The agency anticipates design work will begin this fall, with construction starting in 2019.
Once the building is rennovated, the property will include approximately 69 affordable single-room occupancy or studio units, plus ground-floor commercial space.
The city purchased the Joyce Hotel, which is now vacant, for $4.2 million in 2016. The purchase was part of the city’s promise to preserve affordable rental units downtown.
Since then, the surrounding West End neighborhood has become a hot bed of new restaurants and retail shops.
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