Homeless sweeps and body parts R-US

What do these businesses have in common?

Lance Hamel owns two businesses that may be coming to 2705 NW Nicolai St., a nondescript warehouse next to Montgomery Park.

One is Rapid Response Bio-Clean, a company that contracts with the city of Portland to remove homeless encampments. The city paid Rapid Response more than $12 million last year.

The other is Nari Bio LLC, an inchoate body donation service planning to sell human corpses for medical training.

What would such disparate enterprises be doing under one roof?

Las Hamel Investments LLC, a company registered to Lance Hamel, met with Portland Bureau of Development Services in January “to discuss a new facility for accepting, processing and disposal of waste and vehicles including human and pet remains and medical waste.

“Proposed operations include recreational vehicle and automobile dismantling; future cremation of human and pet remains, including natural organic reduction or composting as well as storage of human remains; medical waste sterilization and recycling; portable toilet and sewage disposal services for pump trucks only; and waste-tire disposal. The facility will not be open to the general public.”

Could this become the world’s first combination garbage hauler and funeral home?

Nari Bio is the more mysterious side of things. A tasteful website featuring an older couple promises, “At NARI, we are dedicated to providing ethical, compassionate service to donors and their families throughout the donation process. Our company connects donors to qualified mortuary science and surgical education institutions for the purpose of advancing the progress of science and education.

“All of our work is done in strict compliance with federal and state regulations, including the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and all industry standards. Our company is a freestanding organization licensed by the Oregon Health Authority."

Where will the bodies come from?

“Our virtual funeral service option allows families the opportunity to have a no-cost option for honoring the life and memory of their loved one before donation.”

The website lists the Nicolai address, and a real person answered the phone. Phineas told the NW Examiner that the company was not yet open for business, though it is licensed to operate a body donation service.

Could some of the bodies be those of campers not surviving a cold night or drug overdose?

We left three messages for Hamel to explain such matters but have not heard from him.

Meanwhile, the Northwest Industrial Business Association is concerned about what might be going on at 27th and Nicolai, especially upon learning of the body donation business.

Eric Opsahl of Savier Development sent out a warning after the pre-application conference in January.

“This type of use (handling of bio-hazardous materials and human remains) should be required to be located farther away from a high-density residential/mixed-use neighborhood, not literally on the border of the new Montgomery Park Plan Area that was just approved in December,” Opsahl wrote in an email. “The adopted plan is projected to create $103 million of residual land value, add 2,220 new residential units and create almost 1,800 new jobs in the area.”

Another local developer, Noel Johnson, had similar thoughts.

“It probably hurts the recent public-private efforts to enable new housing and jobs investments around the former ESCO and struggling Montgomery Park office properties,” Johnson said. “A facility for the cleanup needs created by having thousands homeless is today’s reality, but there are many options that are more ready to go in Northwest Portland with less adjacency issues.”