The end of the renovation project was in sight — until it wasn’t.
That’s because when the day came to replace the building’s wiring, PGE workers discovered the old cables were stuck in the 100-year-old conduit. They couldn’t even dislodge them when they yanked with a truck. The electrical cables were corroded from the iron tube — the conduit — that runs through the building. It was old, and collapsed in its own rust.
Early in the project, the construction crew had come to another impasse connected to the pitfalls of renovating an old building: The concrete foundation turned out to be sinking into a pit of “undocumented fill” — dirt, silverware and shards of ceramic.
These have been difficult moments in terms of time and money, all told adding a couple of months and several hundred thousand dollars to the project.
Months away from opening, we still need to raise nearly one million dollars, about 10 percent of our total funds. While this is an obstacle, we are proud to rise with the community to the challenge. We know, with all of your help, we can get there.
We are currently working to get a permit to install a new conduit. The upside is that the new conduit will carry a larger electrical load if the building needs it in the future.
The conduit will help us electrify a building that once used natural gas heat, transitioning it to rely on renewable energy. Street Roots also has a Portland Clean Energy Fund grant to transform the building’s power source to solar energy backed up by a battery. It’s a big deal to center environmental justice in our work, recognizing that the imperiled climate severely impacts people in poverty.
Powering up the electricity is one way that we aim to let the light in. This big-windowed, century-old building is well-positioned for the southern sun to stream in. It will illuminate people who have too often been denied work opportunities as they gather for the rituals of work. Here they will exchange greetings and stop for a cup of coffee before they pick up their newspaper inventory and hit the streets to find all of you.
We are now looking at completing construction in early April, followed by additional interior work until early May. Street Roots vendors have begun renovating furniture for the move-in, working as “the Flight Crew,” a team led by designer and artist Cole Reed and coordinated by Malyk Mitchell and DeVon Pouncey.
The Flight Crew is working off-site at the Ground Score Association warehouse on NW Couch and Broadway. Our partner in providing low-barrier work, Ground Score is an association of waste pickers and recyclers.
This whole project involves caring for items that could easily be disposed of and repurposing them — whether that’s an old building, a neglected city corner, or the flooring and furniture.
Ultimately, the Street Roots building is also a gift to the city. We strive to do a beautiful job with this renovation so that this will be a building our whole community can be proud of. If you haven’t had a chance to pitch into the project, we encourage you to do so at streetroots.org/hope.
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly investigative publication covering economic, environmental and social inequity. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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