G.P. City Council cancels plan to buy former Elks Lodge

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The City of Grants Pass is no longer looking into purchasing a downtown building after hearing feedback from the community.

At Wednesday night’s Grants Pass City Council meeting, council members discussed the city’s homeless situation.

As KOBI-TV NBC5 previously reported, the city made a preliminary offer to buy a building for a low-barrier shelter and navigation center.

The city was hoping to purchase the former Elks Lodge building on Southwest K Street to provide shelter for homeless people.

The mayor said the location is centrally located which helps people with limited transportation get to it easily so they could access services. The mayor also said opening a navigation center is critical to cleaning up its parks.

During a Wednesday night city council meeting, community members voiced their concerns about the location.

While the city didn’t make a decision about the navigation center during the regular meeting, council members met in an executive session and agreed to take no further action regarding the possible purchase of the Elks Lodge building.

The city said, “City Council is committed to continue looking for an appropriate location for a navigation center that would benefit the community and address issues facing unhoused people in Grants Pass, however, the former Elks building is no longer under consideration.”