Avesta Housing and Preble Street have unveiled a proposal to build what’s being called “Site-based Housing First” — permanent housing with on-site support services for chronically homeless people — where the former Oxford Street homeless shelter stood in Portland.

Avesta, a Portland-based nonprofit that operates 100 affordable properties, more than 3,000 apartments and two assisted living facilities, announced the proposal on Monday morning.

The news comes at a time when Portland is grappling with a growing homeless population, with tent villages around the city.

Avesta has secured an option agreement to purchase a half-acre parcel where the homeless shelter had been. The proposal calls for developing a mixed-income community consisting of two components — Site-based Housing First and multifamily residential. It would have between 30 and 50 affordable apartments.