$100M Homeless Campus? Portland Developers Hope So

By: Daniella Soloway

Developers Homer Williams and Dike Dame envision a homeless campus that will serve 1,400 people with shelter and on-site assistance on a 14-acre riverfront property, owned by the city of Portland, OR.

The two aim to secure about $60 million from foundations and businesses, with the remaining $40 million coming from the government to create “Oregon Trail to Hope.” Although Williams will not be the developer behind the project, should it happen, he knows the concept is “important”, and wants it to serve as a model for the rest of the world.

Last year, Portland’s homeless population amounted to an estimated 3,800, and although some are skeptical of the project, the developers are trying to have a financing plan in place by March of next year.