Oct 19 2007
What Is The Future of The J Building?
There will be a new 620-bed mental health recovery center built on the existing site on Center Street NE. Construction is set to begin in the Spring of 2009 and finish in 2011.A 360 bed facility is proposed for Junction City. The cost of both new treatment centers is estimated to be 458 million dollars.
Salem’s facility is to serve the northwestern end of the State. It appears the area south of Center street where the historic J-building is located has been chosen for the new facility. A due diligence report indicates there are no “show stoppers” for that area.
While nothing official has been said about tearing down the J-Building, there is mention in the September OSH Replacement Project FAQ of the decrepit J-building and of “replacing a dilapidated hospital” and of the process for removal of lead-based paint and asbestos abatement (which would happen if the J-building were to be torn down.)
There has been talk of the structure not surviving an earthquake. Certainly its use as a hospital is risky. But other historic brick buildings have been successfully retrofitted recently. One example is Waller Hall on the Willamette University campus. There have been 3 significant earthquakes in the greater Portland area :
1993…a magnitude 5.5
It appears it would be so much cheaper to reuse the J-Building as well as others on the campus that are deemed no longer usable by OSH.
The State of Washington has given us a good example of how the old historic buildings can be merged with the new modern and much needed facilities.
So what is next? Will the Department of Human Services demolish a historic building that has been part of Salem’s landscape and history for 124 years? Or will they make an effort to save and either reuse the historic site or let it be adapted to other uses in our community?
