Bethlehem Inn Redevelopment, Bethlehem Construction, Inc.
Bethlehem Inn is a non-profit homeless shelter serving central Oregon, located in the City of Bend. Offering more than temporary housing, Bethlehem Inn provides meals, case management, access to transportation, and work experience for its residents in need. Originating as a repurposed 1960s motel complex, Bethlehem Inn found itself in need of more space and embarked on a complete overhaul of their facilities. The mission and vision, Transforming Lives with Shelter and Hope, planned to increase its reach two-fold, provide expanded services, and an ADA compliant facility.
As part of the team of consultants who worked on the project, RH2 provided professional engineering services for the water, sewer, stormwater and site design. With Bethlehem Inn’s critical social service, it was necessary to remain fully functional throughout construction. To meet this goal, RH2 incorporated careful phasing of the improvements, which first involved clearing and grading, demolition of existing buildings, temporary erosion and sedimentation control, and temporary water and sewer connections. Subsequent work to finish the project included constructing new buildings, installing new stormwater facilities, final grading, and the permanent water and sewer pipelines and connections. This process required forward thinking, detailed project planning, and skillful site development to seamlessly move through each phase of redevelopment, while maintaining access and services to existing structures and bringing new facilities online. With giving back to our communities being one of RH2’s core values, we took this project as a pro bono case and managed the project remotely from our Seattle area office.
With construction complete, Bethlehem Inn is now able to serve twice the number of individuals and families, as well as offer full food service with a new commercial kitchen. This project was a resounding success and exceeded the client's expectations. With their new facility, Bethlehem Inn will continue serving the surrounding community for years to come.