World Photo by Lou Sennick Kenneth Annaloro is a resident manager for the new Bay Area First Step Sheridan facility in North Bend. He said he also is available to clients if they want to learn how to play the guitar.

NORTH BEND — Only a few months ago nearly everything about the interior of 1942 Sheridan Ave. seemed to scream correctional facility. From its metal-framed prison bunk beds in stark quarters to its group shower room.

But the downtown North Bend building, owned by the Oregon Department of Corrections and most recently used to house an alternative incarceration program, is on its way to ditching the institutional persona.

“We certainly did a lot to make it not feel that way,” said Steve Sanden, the executive director for Bay Area First Step.

Late last year, First Step, an alcohol- and drug-free housing provider, leased the building from the state and began renovations to transform it into a haven for people recovering from substance abuse.

This Friday, First Step is set to open the doors to the public and then move in a first wave of clients, Sanden said.

“We consistently have a long waiting list of people interested in getting services from us and it’s going to allow us to serve more people,” he explained.

On Tuesday, the executive director said only a few finishing touches need to be made, as he walked through the building’s orange-tiled halls and showed off some of eight bedrooms that resemble a college dormitory. The facility is intended to house 24 men and women. Each bedroom contains three beds, closets and desks.

The building will be their home for about 90 days as clients go through treatment with partners such as ADAPT, Coos County Corrections Treatment Center or Serenity Lane.

While the facility will house some ex-convicts in recovery, they will make up only about 4 percent of the population, and all potential clients will be screened before being accepted, Sanden noted.

The new space also will leave more room in First Step’s other facility at 1741 Newmark Ave., which will be used for long-term housing.

Following residents’ stay and graduation from Sheridan, they will — ideally — move into the Newmark facility, Sanden said. It can often be challenging for people coming out of recovery to return to their old neighborhoods and friends where they once abused alcohol or drugs. Providing substance-free housing like this can keep them on the wagon.

“There would be less temptations. That’s for sure,” Sanden said.

That same morning Kenneth Annaloro, a resident manager and First Step graduate, worked in the open kitchen where he will soon cook for and oversee residents. He has already moved into one of the staff bedrooms.

“It’s a step up ... because we’re able to accommodate more people than we have in the past,” Annaloro said.

Renovations included repairing the 5,000-square-foot building’s roof, fixing the floor and cleaning up and re-striping the parking lot.

The building also now offers six bathrooms, four of which feature showers, along with bedrooms for two resident managers, a large kitchen, and laundry facilities.

Work cost about $175,000 and was funded by First Step, the Coquille Tribal Community Fund, the Zonta Club of Coos Bay, and Bay Area Hospital, among others, Sanden said. 

The organization is fundraising to replace windows. It also has a wish list that includes refrigerators, freezers, area rugs, window coverings and landscape improvements. First Step is leasing the facility for $500 a month on a five-year renewable lease.

Annaloro said he likes the look of the facility.

“We want to make it more like home. We’re not an institution,” Annaloro said.