This, the corner lot of Ninth and Jackson, is one of three city-owned lots the council has been asked to make available to sell or give away.
Two parties have declared their interest in obtaining three lots owned by the City of Albany near the corner of Ninth Avenue and Jackson Steet. And I’m trying to learn why the city owns these properties in the first place.
Two of the lots, at 817 Jackson St. and 503 Ninth Ave. S.E., were occupied as designated homeless camping sites until the city closed them and fenced them off on Aug. 29. The third is two addresses east at 519 Ninth. All three are vacant.
On Monday, Bill Van Vleet of Van Vleet Meat and Food Service told the city council his company would like to purchase the properties. The business, based across Jackson Street, has expanded and needs more room.
On Wednesday, Jessica Becker of Albany Helping Hands asked the council to declare the properties surplus so the city can dispose of them. Helping Hands has a dream of building a three-story apartment complex west of its homeless shelter along Ninth Avenue in order to house people who otherwise would become homeless.
If the council follows through, it will then face the choice of selling the land to help a business thrive or giving the property away for construction of subsidized housing.
For housing, the city’s vacant lots would first have to be rezoned. All are now zoned “light industrial,” a designation that covers the entire block, including two privately owned houses, five houses owned by Helping Hands, and the shelter itself.
How did the city get its hands on three of the lots in that block? I went to the Linn County Clerk’s Office to find out.
The lot at 817 Jackson was taken by Linn County in a tax foreclosure in January 1987. The county sold it to Randy Tripp in 1989 for $1,000. He sold it to the city in June 1990 for $6,000.
The other two lots were owned by Lorraine and Ken Carter, who sold them both to the city in October 1990 for $24,640.
But why did the city spend money to acquire those lots? It’s been 34 years, and former City Manager Steve Bryant, now retired in Bend, can’t remember the details.
“I pulled up Google maps to refresh my memory,” Bryant told me via email. “All I can really recall is that the properties were pretty run down and we had had some issues there. We may have even had a house or two demolished.”
He speculated that the purchases might have been related to the idea of building a pedestrian bridge across the railroad tracks from Jackson Street to Swanson Park, an idea that got nowhere. Or perhaps the purchases were related to the city’s and ODOT’s project, then in the works, to build the Pacific Boulevard and Ninth Avenue couplet.
The reason for the purchases may remain cloaked in mystery. But now the council faces a dilemma: What to do with these lots. (hh)
This is a drawing of potential apartments on Ninth Avenue the Helping Hands shelter hopes to build.
Van Vleet Meat and Food Service is across Jackson Street from lots the company wants to buy from the city.
Helping *no one ” hands has no business building apartments when they can’t even handle the unhoused population and the challenges that arise serving that demographic having closed their doors and turning their back on anyone in need of support from basic human needs to a meal.to referral to outside agencies for resources since April 2023. AHH had the opportunity to expand their services by 30 beds funded by a federal grant that they were Co reciepents of with CHANCE. Helping “no one” hands lost their share of the grant for non compliance of regulations and rules that come with the grant. Primarily the board of directors treasurer refusal to relinquish control of grant funds of nearly one million dollars to a unbiased 3rd party grant manager avoiding any conflict of. interest perceptions. Now they want the city to hand them 3 properties for a dollar each from some backroom deal 25 years ago? How about first AHH shows the city that they going back to their roots and start with helping those right outside their windows… Oh wait the city already ran those people off… Guess Albany Helping “No one” Hands needs to go outside their comfort zone and start doing some outreach and open services to anyone that needs them.. Then maybe the city could consider donating property, but short of that. those lots can just sit empty in this citizen of Albany opinion
This should be a no-brainer. Growing the property tax base is the obvious response.
But I suspect the council will instead want to scratch their “feel good” itch.
With that need in mind, here is a better approach.
Lobby the state to allow Albany to impose a real estate transfer “fee.” This “fee” would be a one-time revenue windfall each time a profit-grubbing private property owner sells a property. Easy money.
The money can then be dedicated to growing the subsidized homeless economy through hand-outs to non-profits like Helping Hands who demand a place at the public trough.
Itch scratched, feel good achieved, and another “fee” imposed without voter approval. The trifecta of local government.
That area is too small for apartments plus a hazard for more traffic and crime in that area. The pedestrian traffic alone would cause problems going around the corner under the overpass. Even a light would not help due to the nature of that area and the blocked view, people would just walk in front of cars as they do now. They would also have people visiting the apartments adding to the congestion on Jackson and 9th which are very busy streets. The residents of the shelter already cause traffic hazards with the cars parked there and the extra traffic coming in and out of the small parking lot. Now, that area is a drop off zone instead of parking on 9th to drop people off. We have to stop when people pull out or in, so the parking lot has increased the risk of accidents on the Pacific off ramp curve onto 9th. It is not only local businesses that need to use the 9th street on and off ramps, many residents and people coming into and out of Albany do too. That area has always been active and useful. The shelter gave people a reason and an excuse to accumulate under the overpass. Having Van Vleet expand would improve the area in every way. The shelter moving to a different area would better serve the community and the homeless without all the grief it causes by being under the overpass.
In agreement with Mr. Walker, I stopped funding them due to mismanagement of Helping Hands. He did his homework. Thank you for enlightening Albany on this financial debacle. Should indeed be called Helpless Hands. So sorry to see this place change their tune.
The city should sell any surplus properties it has to cover the deficit in funds for our roads and bridges before raising property taxes through “fees”. I would rather see Helping Hands develop the properties into housing than used as a parking lot.
Does anyone remember why there were big boulders put under the over pass? That was before the camp was placed there. Remember the police and ambulance visits the shelter received there too. The businesses in that area have been abused by crime, filth, loitering and excessive traffic for years. Wait until the city wants to add a homeless tax to your bills to pay for the extra security and clean up needed. It would be a huge benefit of that small area to the local businesses plus moving the shelter would be a blessing for the decent homeless to have a better place to go, away from that over burdened area. If people sincerely want to help the homeless they would offer them something better than dead end options that will never give them a life worth living.
No brainer, Van Vleet purchase would put it back on the tax rolls, would fill the space with something that is needed, and would keep the loiterers at bay….
Hear, hear! The obviously wise choice.
I would rather sell to a business that is ready to move forward than as a project that may get funded someday.