Ceremonial ribbon cutting Monday heralds opening of second motel-to-apartment project in Lincoln County

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews

The newest chapter of an effort that began as a way to provide housing for wildfire victims and Covid-19 sufferers opens Monday with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting in Newport.

The 1:30 p.m. gathering will mark the official opening of “Nate’s Place” – now refashioned from a former motel as a 33-unit facility offering transitional housing services.

“It’s been a long and amazing road getting to this point,” said Sheila Stiley, executive director of Northwest Coastal Housing, which is the facility’s owner and sponsor. “What we’re talking about is a place for people to build their lives back up.”

Nate’s Place – named for the late Nathan Adams, who was a one-time, long-term tenant on the property – is just one piece of a public-private partnership first formed in 2020. The Oregon Legislature created Project Turnkey as a way to buy available properties both in wildfire-affected regions and elsewhere around the state.

Stiley’s organization secured a grant under the first phase of Project Turnkey that converted a 38-unit motel in Lincoln City into Coastal Phoenix Rising for people suffering from trauma or crisis.

When additional money was allocated for what became known as Project Turnkey 2.0, Northwest Coastal Housing was already prepared to move ahead with the purchase of the 44-unit Newport Coast Inn on U.S. Highway 101 in Newport. The $4.6 million cost was bolstered by additional grants totaling $673,000 to rehabilitate and refit the property for use as a transitional housing center.

Day-to-day operations will be handled by Newport-based ReConnections Counseling. That organization will have counselors on site to provide “wrap-around” services that include peer and job counseling.

“This is going to fill a vital need in creating a continuum of housing to help reduce homelessness,” said Claire Hall, a Lincoln County Commissioner who served on the statewide housing advisory panel that helped create Project Turnkey.

A handful of long-term tenants living in a separate building near the back of the property will not be affected by the opening of Nate’s Place.

Stiley said there is already a waiting list of people seeking a room at the renovated project.

Tenants will pay $125 a week to live at Nate’s Place, she said, but that is mainly so they can build up the type of rental history that many likely lack.

A statewide view

The first iteration of Project Turnkey created 19 new shelters in 13 counties, according to state statistics. Those projects, collectively, increased the state’s supply of shelter beds by 20 percent.

The launch of Project Turnkey 2.0 included increased opportunities for rural towns and tribes to participate. It also expanded property types beyond motels and hotels to include vacant or underused schools, apartment complexes and other kinds of properties. The 2.0 effort generated 13 Turnkey grantees in 11 counties. The 517 new housing units in those projects increased the state’s shelter supply by an additional 10 percent.

“The most fundamental thing to help someone out of homelessness is a roof over their head,” Hall said. “Beyond a doubt, these projects are helping do that.”

No decisions have been made about the possibility of a Project Turnkey 3.0, but Stiley said her organization is ready to jump at the chance if it materializes.

“We’ll have to wait and see what the state comes up with for that,” she said. “But if it comes up, I’ll apply.”

• Dana Tims is an Oregon freelance writer who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. He can be reached at DanaTims24@gmail.com