Portland Mayor Keith Wilson plans to close one of his largest — and most contentious — overnight-only shelters in the face of a massive budget shortfall.

The city plans to terminate its lease in the Pearl District building where the 200-bed Northrup Shelter operates, according to city spokesperson Cody Bowman. He did not say when exactly the shelter will close.

Bowman said the closure is just “one cost saving option the city is currently pursuing in response to budget constraints in the coming fiscal year.”

This is just the latest news of a shelter closing due to government budget challenges.

Northrup is the second of Wilson’s new overnight shelters that will close this year. Last month, the city announced it will close 100 shelter beds this summer due to low usage and funding constraints. That includes an overnight shelter in the Centennial neighborhood.

City leaders must fill a $172 million budget gap before the new fiscal year begins in July. Wilson released a budget proposal Monday that included a 30% reduction in the city’s shelter budget, but did not indicate if those cuts would close shelters. Northrup Shelter appears to be the first on the chopping block. But it may not be the last.

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Bowman, with Wilson’s office, said more decisions about shelter program cuts will come as the budget process continues.

The Northrup Shelter, located at Northwest Northrup Street and Northwest 15th Avenue, is operated by the Salvation Army and offers beds for up to 200 people each night. Since opening last September, it’s been a source of frustration for some neighbors, many of whom packed an auditorium last summer to oppose the shelter’s opening. Those critics have continued to argue that the building made their community less safe and clean — and that it doesn’t offer needed services to people staying there.

Last month, the owner of an apartment building near the shelter sued the city and Salvation Army, alleging the shelter has diminished the building’s market value.

The Northrup Shelter is a key piece of Wilson’s strategy to end homelessness — a plan that relied on quickly opening new overnight-only shelters across Portland to accommodate up to 1,500 people. Several people experiencing homelessness have told OPB they preferred staying at Northrup compared to other area shelters and consider it to be cleaner. The shelter is rarely at capacity. The most recent city data shows that Northrup filled 62% of its beds in February.

It’s not clear what this closure will mean for those who rely on the nightly space and Salvation Army staff who work at the shelter. The Salvation Army did not immediately respond to OPB’s request for comment.

Neighborhood association leaders are heartened by the news.

“This is the first time where the city has seen something not working the way it was thought it would work — instead of doubling down they said we should redirect — that is so welcome,” said Todd Zarnitz, president of the Northwest District Association, a neighborhood district that lies west of the Pearl District.

Zarnitz led much of the early neighborhood opposition to the shelter last year and remains critical of its handling. He received a call from Wilson’s office Monday night with news that the shelter was closing “very soon.”

Councilor Eric Zimmerman, who represents District 4, said “it’s time” for the shelter’s closure.

“Northrup Shelter is an example of what happens when a shelter plops down in the idle of a residential neighborhood without enough cleanup services and neighborhood enhancement,” he said.

Fellow District 4 Councilor Mitch Green said the news feels “inevitable” due to the city’s budget constraints. He believes money previously spent on overnight shelters would better be spent on “upstream solutions,” like storage for people living outside and day shelters.

Portland’s isn’t the only local government planning to close shelters to balance its budget. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson has proposed closing 600 beds in county-run shelters in her budget plan for the next fiscal year.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/21/northrup-shelter-portland-close/