Care For the Tabernacle

I prepared this concept brief to outline an alternative approach to a conventional sale of the property in question. After attempting to reach the seller through other channels, I shared the brief with the seller’s agent whose feedback was that the church is “very much prioritizing expediency of sale… so this timeline could be tough.”

I had first proposed a conditional purchase but—as I explained to to the agent—my research led me to focus on the process I described in the concept brief. “Sounds like they need a faster path to a clear outcome,” I said. “If that shifts, I’d be glad to reconnect—I care about this building’s future.”

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Context

For nearly a century, the Portland Stake Tabernacle has been a beacon of faith and discipleship. Its distinctive architecture and layered interior spaces—chapel, cultural hall, classrooms, genealogical library—have housed generations of religious and community life.

But with shifting demographics, the building’s original institutional use has come to a close. Even so, the church retains spiritual and architectural significance in the region, such that there is a need to honor its legacy while allowing its purpose to evolve to meet today’s needs.

This brief is an invitation to explore whether the Tabernacle might enter a new chapter through a careful, time-bound discernment process rather than a predetermined redevelopment plan. The opportunity is to tailor the next mission and programming to the uniqueness of the building itself.

Hypothesis

One possible future use is as a center focused on healing and reconciliation for combat veterans and their families. An independent, community-based organization in relationship with the Portland VA Medical Center could address moral injury, sensemaking about war, and integration into civilian life. Veterans cross religious, political, and cultural lines, and in addition to offering interfaith chaplaincy, the site could serve as a regional convener, serving veterans and their families as well as refugees from war-torn countries who have resettled here.

This is one idea to be explored during a structured discovery period. The process may reveal that the underlying orientation is right while the focus needs to shift, broaden, or change entirely.

Proposed Process

The aim of the proposed discovery and discernment process is to rigorously assess whether the above hypothesis or an adjacent alternative is financially and organizationally viable.

This process would be time-bound and phased, with an initial discernment period of approximately 12 months, followed by implementation planning if warranted. During this time building access is limited to observation, documentation, and small-scale, programmatic pilots. The focus is on validating a stewardship pathway and identifying a single primary use. Prior to that, there will be no ownership transfer, change of use, or major physical alterations. The Church retains control of the asset until clarity, including future occupancy classification, exists.

Preliminary conversations with city planning and life safety examiners suggest that a change in ownership alone does not trigger zoning or life safety requirements. Upgrades are primarily triggered by a change in occupancy classification, increase in occupant load, or the scope of renovations. The proposed discovery period is designed to preserve the building’s existing occupancy and life safety posture while potential future uses are evaluated. A detailed feasibility analysis will be conducted once a primary use is identified, and only with the Church’s consent.

For purposes of discovery, the focus is on institutional uses that are already conditionally supported, and the working hypothesis assumes a single primary use with customary accessory functions including convening, education, spiritual care, cultural programming, and administrative support. Residential or overnight uses are excluded.

Precedents

Across the US, successful transitions of institutional buildings into new stewardship tend to share several features: continuity of values rather than sameness of use; a period of temporary activation before permanent transfer; site-responsive organizational formation; and explicit attention to preservation and long-term care.

Less successful outcomes often occur when buildings are sold outright without a coherent plan, resulting in vacancy, inappropriate use, or rapid deterioration—outcomes that preservation easements are designed to prevent.

In this case, a possible future steward might be a new entity formed to hold mission, governance, and fundraising responsibility, potentially in partnership with regional or sector-based organizations. The exact structure would emerge through the discovery process.

This work would be scoped as a professional engagement consistent with how institutions typically approach the adaptive reuse of significant legacy properties. I propose serving in a defined role as project lead, coordinating the process, engaging advisors, interfacing with City agencies as appropriate, and developing clear recommendations for the Church at the conclusion of the period. I come to this work with experience bridging institutional strategy, community-based initiatives, and collaborative planning across faith, civic, and nonprofit contexts. A formal consulting agreement would clarify deliverables, constraints, and mutual expectations, with compensation commensurate with the engagement’s scope and duration.

Depending on the findings, the process could lead to (a) identification of an external steward organization, (b) co-creation of a new stewarding entity, or (c) a decision not to proceed.

Next Steps

This brief is intended solely to determine whether the Church is open, in principle, to a time-bound discernment process that could lead to new stewardship of the historic building. Partnering in this process increases the likelihood that any eventual transfer is worthy of its spiritual and architectural significance and is sustainable long-term.

If this direction resonates, I would welcome the opportunity to prepare a more detailed proposal and discuss whether this approach aligns with the Church’s hopes for the property.