The following is shared from Mid-Columbia Community Action Council:

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) is excited to announce a new collaboration with the Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC)’s Construction Technology program! MCCAC has been awarded $400,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s “Community Project Funding” program to partner with CGCC to build and install 18 custom-designed “micro-shelter” units, which gradually will replace the existing pallet shelters at MCCAC’s The Gloria Navigation Center. Containing beds for two people and equipped with heating, cooling, and electricity, these new micro-shelters will be sturdier than the pallet shelters and will provide a sustainable temporary housing option (the pallet shelters will be repurposed to be mobilized in emergency response scenarios such as wildfires and storms). HUD funds will cover all the materials cost for constructing and installing the micro-shelters, including a custom trailer from The Dalles Iron Works for transporting the units from the campus to The Gloria Center.

CGCC Construction Technology Department Head and Lead Instructor Glenn Wood designed the micro-shelters and is supervising all aspects of construction. Glenn’s design is a base model that could be adjusted to incorporate additional design elements for future micro-shelters (such as plumbing hookups). Construction on the first unit begins this winter. The first unit will serve as a pilot, allowing the opportunity to adjust the design and/or construction process if needed. After that, construction will increase exponentially, with a goal of having all 18 units installed by May 2031. The City of The Dalles partnered with Stantec, an engineering and environmental consulting company based in Portland, to conduct an environmental review at no cost to MCCAC, which determined that the existing Gloria Center property is an appropriate site for installing the micro-shelters.

“This project is a perfect example of the power of community-engaged learning,” said MCCAC Deputy Director Kyle Bray. “Our community will receive critical shelter for houseless individuals, while CGCC students, faculty, and staff benefit from applied learning in the construction trades, a significantly underemployed industry in our region.”