René DuBoise, Oregon Department of Human Service’s (DHS) Multnomah County district manager, told the Memo that its new offices at the old Target site at 11826 N.E. Glisan St. in Hazelwood will not be shared with retail but instead will be dedicated to use by DHS to provide services including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income client assistance programs.

Exterior renovation of the former Target store began March 2016 and appears to be nearing completion. Target’s signature four-sided pyramidal roof is gone, its eastern entryway has a new look, its exterior cinderblock façade has windows on three sides and new parking lot islands have landscaping in progress. The new Multi-Family Resource & Service Center will replace the Southeast Powell Boulevard office and the nearby DHS office at 1415 S.E. 122nd Ave., as previously reported by the Memo (“Department of Human Services targets Hazelwood” MCM April 2016), as well as the Gresham office.

DuBoise acknowledged that the Gresham office lease expires October 31, 2016, but she noted that client services are provided not only by centralized offices but also where clients live. “We want to connect with the people we’re serving over the phone or email, schools, homes or other designated locations as appropriate,” DuBoise explained via email. She also noted that TANF staff will remain to offer client assistance at the Gresham child welfare site.

DuBoise said she didn’t know whether a traffic impact study had been conducted as part of the building renovation permit process; however, she noted in an email that “[t]he DHS traffic pattern should be no more or less than when Target [was] using the property alongside of Safeway and other entities on site.”

Asked about the schedule for the move into its new offices, DuBoise replied, “We will be combining staff from several locations and anticipate the moving transition to start around Labor Day. The moves [are] to occur during weekends sot [sic] that we have as little disruption [as possible] in the delivery of services to clients.”

For more information, contact DuBoise at rene.l.duboise@state.or.us or call her at 503-780-1795.