With temperatures expected to plunge into dangerous territory beginning Thursday, Portland officials will activate the city’s winter warming center, a facility located well outside the downtown core and accessible primarily by shuttle.
The warming center, housed at 166 Riverside Industrial Parkway, will open on any night when temperatures fall to 15 degrees or below or when 10 inches or more of snow is forecast. On activation nights, the facility operates from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and can serve up to 60 adults needing emergency overnight shelter.
The site, already used as an migrant shelter, doubles as a winter refuge through a divided layout that separates the two populations. Those staying overnight will have access to beds, restrooms, and showers.
Because the building sits roughly five miles from downtown, the city will again rely on a free shuttle system to transport people to and from the warming center – a point of ongoing criticism from residents and service providers who say the remote location presents accessibility challenges.
Shuttles will operate from 7:30 p.m. to midnight and again from 4:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Riders can request pickup by calling 207-810-6727. During shelter hours, the General Assistance contact line is 207-482-5122.
City officials have defended the location, calling it the only workable option heading into winter despite continued concerns about distance, transportation gaps, and the strain on staff and emergency resources.
For now, with freezing temperatures approaching, the city’s temporary warming center will again serve as a critical, if imperfect, lifeline for Portland’s unhoused residents.
