Asian Health & Service Center Grand Opening
Previously located on SE Powell Boulevard, the Asian Health & Service Center has served more than 10,000 people of Asian descent living in the tri-county Portland Metropolitan Area since its inception in 1983. AHSC provides a full range of healthcare services, including healthy food programs, exercise and health education programs, as well as professional behavioral and Eastern medical services. The new permanent center will allow AHSC to expand and add new programs to provide cultural and language specific preventative and integrative health care for people of Asian descent and the broader Lents community. The new location also provides excellent transit access.
The AHSC staff and clientele will support business activity and bring a significant capital investment to the Lents Community. People of Asian descent make up 25% of the project census tract’s population and 15% of the surrounding neighborhood population. Bringing AHSC to this transit oriented Urban Renewal Area will continue the City of Portland’s efforts to support and honor the unique international culture of Lents.
In addition, the new Center will locate more than fifty living wage jobs in Lents, with employment opportunities ranging from entry-level workforce to healthcare professionals. AHSC looks forward to new business partnerships in Lents, including purchasing over 500 meals per week from local Asian restaurants for its healthy foods program. With service visits expected to quickly exceed 50,000 annually, AHSC will contribute to a vibrant active Town Center.
The building’s components create a vibrant community center in the geographic core of Portland’s burgeoning Asian community in Southeast Portland. The flexible spaces will serve as a bridge for Asian and American cultures for future generations. Totaling 30,000 square feet, those spaces include:
- Consultation and treatment rooms for behavioral and physical healthcare
- Asian Cancer Research and Support Center
- A healing garden
- Multipurpose small group rooms for adult classes & therapeutic group programs
- A 6,000 square foot multipurpose hall that will be used throughout the day and evening for health education programs, exercise classes, daily meals for seniors, social gatherings, and community cultural events
- Third floor terrace
- Onsite parking with 57 spaces for vehicles and ten bike spaces, as well as excellent transit access
The building’s organization reflects AHSC’s service model; the building welcomes a wide variety of community activities on the top floor, houses staff and volunteers focused on general health services on the second, and provides personal consultation and clinic services on the ground floor. An open and transparent stair tower at the main entrance makes vertical circulation through the building visible to the outside. At night, the building’s lantern-like glow will make it a visual icon in the neighborhood.
The building’s concrete and steel frame provides flexible interior spaces and a durable structure to meet the long-term needs of AHSC. The south-facing screen wall adds visual texture and sunshading, and along with an ultra-efficient mechanical system and water conservation fixture and features, helps the project meet its sustainable design goal of a LEED-NC Gold Rating from the US Green Building Council. On the interior, a lobby rock garden, wood screens, and a palette of warm greys with pops or red unite traditional Asian elements with contemporary design.
