Blanchet House Readies for Major Expansion in Old Town Chinatown

UPDATED 3/7/11

More good news for the most underserved community in our city—the Blanchet House is about to launch a major capital campaign to offset some of the costs of a brand new multi-million dollar facility on the corner of NW Glisan and NW 4th Ave. Brian Ferschweiler, Executive Director of Blanchet (which includes Blanchet House, Riley House, and Blanchet Farm) says that he is confident that, with their tremendous donor base and helpful community partners, they'll be able to reach their goal.

"We hope to expand from the 29 beds we have now to at least 40, maybe more," Ferschweiler says. "We'll also have space to expand our mental health services, and seat twice as many people in a new dining room." The biggest improvement, he thinks, will be the fact that they'll have an indoor "queuing area," where people waiting to be sat for a meal can wait. Currently, that area is outside of the building, and the wait can sometimes be long. Understandably, outside of the beautiful summer months in Portland, there is much inclement weather with which to contend. Patrick Daley, manager of the Blanchet House says, "Our mission is to treat the hungry with dignity and respect." He believes giving them a warm, dry place to wait for their meals will be integral to reaching that goal.

The Blanchet organization began when a group of Portland University students founded it as a social service club in 1938. Sometime after World War II, the spiritual advisor of the group, Father Frances Kennard, spoke to the students about starting a project to help men struggling with poverty. He turned to a New Testament passage to illustrate why he thought it would be a noble undertaking: "I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me." The students found meaning in this mission, and in 1952, began renting space at 340 NW Glisan Street. Seven years later, they purchased the entire building, using the second and third floors for short term housing for up to 29 men who would work in the kitchen and dining room downstairs in exchange for housing. This arrangement continues to this day, serving 600-900 meals daily, and providing temporary housing for men recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, working towards a more independent life.

"We serve three beautiful meals a day, six days a week," Daley says with obvious pride. Their largest donor is Trader Joe's supermarkets, who give donations five days a week. Pacific Coast Fruit, Zupan's and Caruso Farms are just a few of the other suppliers. He also applauds the work of Urban Gleaners, a small group of volunteers who pick up food from farmer's markets, restaurants, event sites, and food stores that would otherwise be thrown away, and deliver it to places that feed the hungry, like Blanchet House. And Daley is right—the food is beautiful.

"It is very rare that we serve any canned food here," he explains.

The dining room, which doubles as the prep area is less beautiful, with exposed pipes, ragged linoleum floors, and single-paned windows, but no one seems to mind. While I visit, there are several men washing, peeling and cutting up fruits and vegetables to then hand over to the cooks in the kitchen. Daley explains that the men first come in and volunteer for three shifts, to "get a feel for the program, to demonstrate their readiness for the commitment to work, and to stay clean and sober." Once they've finished that, they have to give Blanchet a two month work commitment. There is a zero tolerance policy on using drugs or alcohol, there is no swearing allowed downstairs, and the men are encouraged to attend recovery programs and reconnect with family when appropriate.

"We give them a safe environment, a supportive community, and a work routine that helps them stay on task," Daley says. The task he refers to is staying sober, and getting their lives back on track. Blanchet partners with other organizations in the city like Central City Concern to help the men get training, get their resumes in order, help them with interview attire, and ultimately ready them for the workplace. He says that though they were founded by Catholics, anyone of any faith or lack thereof, is welcome.

He introduces me to several men—some staff members, but for the most part I meet the men who live here. Unfailingly, they shake my hand firmly, and maintain eye contact while we speak. I do, however, detect a certain quality in all of them—a battle-weariness, a humility. I cannot imagine that the road they traveled that brought them to Blanchet House was an easy one.

I am overwhelmed as Daley takes me on a tour of the building. It is a hundred years old, and doesn't appear to have been updated much in the past fifty years. It is more or less meticulously clean, but quite dilapidated. There are only two bathrooms for all 28 men. Throughout, the plaster is crumbling, the linoleum worn, the carpets thread-bare. I ask Daley about extremes in temperature, both in the summer and the winter.

"There is no insulation," he explains, "So once it hits summer, it is pretty hot. Same goes for cold in the winter." They have fans in all the rooms, but only one old window air conditioning unit that they put in the community room. In the winter they rely on small electric wall heaters.

Certainly, these digs are humble, but the overwhelming feeling that I get from the men who live here is simple gratitude. They were vulnerable, sick, living on the streets. There is no comparison for how much of an improvement this place represents, but the need for a new facility is painfully evident.

The new building will stand in stark and beautiful contrast to the sad old building.

"We are really proud to be associated with this [project]," says Joe Pinzone, Principal architect at SERA Architects. "It is the kind of project that helps you get up in the morning, excited. It is so rewarding to be part of something so important."

The new building is designed to be functional, beautiful, and quite green.

"We're going for a base of LEED gold, but reaching for platinum designation," Pinzone tells me. But that is only the beginning. The residential side of the building will be "net zero water" meaning that they will collect rainwater and graywater for reuse in the facility. "Net zero" means that they will not use more water than they are able to collect. The building will be Net Zero Water on the residential side only, because there is not enough rainfall (believe it or not, Portlanders) or graywater to include the whole building. Still, for a residence of approximately 50 adults, this is a huge undertaking. Though it will be filtered to a drinkable standard, the plan does not include potable water.

One of the main points about the current building that Brian Ferschweiler had mentioned to me was that the house's energy bills were making a negative impact on their mission. The cost of heating the old drafty building (and trying to keep it cooler in the summer), was money that they could be spending on programs for the men of the Blanchet House program. Pinzone and the SERA group are working on managing that problem through a lot of ingenuity. Their goal is to be 60% more energy efficient than is required by the city. They are considering a geothermal heating system, which utilizes underground heat through a series of wells under the building to preheat or precool the air, essentially providing free cooling and heating. Pinzone asserts that it is one of the most efficient systems available. It would be a "closed loop" system, meaning the process would pose no threat to the groundwater. Other innovations include a kitchen hood system that will greatly reduce the heat loss and gain that occurs with normal commercial hoods. A solar-thermal water system will heat the building's water without using gas or electricity, and the excess heat produced from the kitchen's refrigerators and freezers will be captured to be used elsewhere in the building.

Pinzone knows that the green features of this building will add some costs up front, but the savings over time will be enormous. SERA has been active in helping Blanchet House apply for grants and state and federal incentive programs that will help offset the costs.

Though there will be recycled materials used in the new building, none of it will come from the building that currently sits on the site. Overall, that building is in rough shape, making the material unfit for the new building, but there are other, more philosophical reasons that play a role as well.

"This is a 100% drug and alcohol free program," Pinzone says. Using material from a bar seems to go against the basic tenants of the Blanchet House. Other positive symbolism is at work in the design of the new building. Pinzone explains.

"Removing the Dirty Duck building [and replacing it with a new building] improves a challenged area and creates a sense of a gateway into the Old Town-Chinatown neighborhood. We want to invigorate the area, instill pride. We are building a better symbol [for the neighborhood]." He hopes that the building will encourage more interest in the area, like a small-scale streetscape on Glisan with sculpture and pedestrian areas.

The building itself will help make the corner active with balconies looking over the street, and glass walls on the corner, both to show the mission of the program at work, and the rooms proposed to be available to community groups.

More importantly than what the new building will do for the look of the corner is what it will not only provide for the men who reside there, but for the people who come in for a hot meal. There will be no more waiting outside. Pinzone agrees with Patrick Daley and Brian Ferschweiler from the Blanchet House—this improvement is the best part.

Patrick Daley informs me that although the building most likely won't get underway until next summer, the workers at Blanchet Farms, in Carlton, Oregon, are already at work in their woodshop making furniture for the new facility.

Daley is contagiously upbeat, though I imagine that his job, and the facilities he has to work with, presents many challenges. I wonder, after five and a half years here, what keeps him motivated.

"I'm here six days a week," he says, "and some days it is just following a routine." He smiles and adds, "Other days, it is absolute magic." He says there are men who come in shaking, sweating, unable to keep food down. Then in a short time they are working, smiling, ready to get back to living.

"I am reminded every day why this is important," he asserts.

He also talks about the hundreds of people who come in for meals each day. "There is no catch," he says, "if you're hungry, come in and we'll feed you. We treat everyone who walks in the door with respect and dignity. It is good to be a part of it. It is magical and beautiful."

View the slideshow for more images of Blanchet House or visit our Flickr gallery:

UPDATE 3/7/11: "Landmarks Commission approves SERA-designed Blanchet House expansion"
By Brian Libby, Portland Architecture

UPDATE 2/8/10: "City Council Tentatively Approves Demolition Permit for Historic Kiernan Building"
By Nick Bjork, Neighborhood Notes