NORTH BEND — A local prison official wants to turn a building in downtown North Bend into transitional housing for substance abusers from the community, as well as offenders released from county and state prisons.

Owned by the Oregon Department of Corrections since 1972, the building has housed a work-release program, a minimum-security facility and, most recently, an alternative incarceration program, said Tim Causey, the superintendent of Shutter Creek Correctional Institution in Hauser.  Causey said he would like to see the structure — now vacant except for outreach meetings — transformed into transitional housing that would be leased and operated by Bay Area First Step, a drug- and alcohol-free housing provider in Coos Bay. Located at 1942 Sheridan Ave., the building was vacated in March after a dorm was added to Shutter Creek.

“What we are wanting to do is really look at what the Department of Corrections’ mission is. That is to provide public safety,” Causey said, adding a transitional facility would help former inmates and people down on their luck to return to society as productive citizens. “Part of that requires stable housing — a drug- and alcohol-free living environment — that’s what we’ve identified the local community has a need for.”

Causey said he began discussing the idea with city staff and officials of Bay Area First Step earlier this year, adding he wanted Bay Area First Step involved because the two entities already have an established relationship. He said he hoped the building will be transformed by July 2008.

Steve Sanden, the director of Bay Area First Step, which provides transitional housing to people recovering from substance abuse issues, said the ODC’s facility in downtown North Bend would be a good addition to his program. The nonprofit operates several housing facilities near Southwestern Oregon Community College, including a transitional house with 16 beds and eight two-bedroom apartments.

“We have an extremely long waiting list of folks who are waiting for our services. We could help a lot more people than we are currently serving,” Sanden said. Approximately 40 people are on the waiting list, he said, and the ODC site could serve about 24 of them.

Although negotiations for the facility are in the early stages, Sanden said the site would likely include shared bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area, on-site staff and case management for all clients.

“We work with a lot of folks that are ready to get their lives back together and we’ve seen a lot of success. And these people are in our community and many of them are doing quite well,” Sanden said.

The topic was raised at the North Bend City Council work session on Monday, when Causey presented it to the council.

It didn’t get the warmest reception.

While most of  the councilors had little to say about the proposal, Councilor Howard Graham said the city has been attempting to revitalize its downtown area and found transitional housing to be a poor fit for that vision.

“This is just not a use I’d like to see,” Graham said.

On Wednesday, Graham added he’d like to see how the Downtown Business Association feels about the idea.

“To have a release center basically downtown in the business center is just not a good use of the property or a wise use of the property,” Graham said, adding he may feel differently in the future.

Causey said he understands the councilor’s concerns but believed the transitional house could still be a positive addition to the area.

“I think we can be good neighbors and we have been good neighbors for 20 years. We would certainly be open to hearing what their concerns are so we can address those,” Causey said, adding that the facility could help cut down crime and help ex-convicts to become stable members of society. “I think the impact is going to be a positive impact. We ran a prison down there for a very long time with very few issues, very few complaints and most of the local community not even being aware that we were there.”

Causey said a lease agreement needs to be worked out with Bay Area First Step and he would like to continue to gather feedback from the community and city. He added the agreement would need to be approved by Max Williams, the director of the ODC, in Salem.