Gov. Inslee to attend ceremony for new Lacey homeless shelter next week
Maple Court, a new homeless shelter in Lacey, is opening, the nonprofit operator announced Wednesday, and Gov. Inslee and members of Lacey City Council will take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 5.
The nonprofit operator is the Low Income Housing Institute. The Olympian could not reach a representative of the organization on Wednesday, but a Lacey official said residents were expected to move in this week after a previous delay.
“As far as I know, the first residents are still on track to be moved into the facility this week,” said Grant Beck, the city of Lacey’s planning and development services manager who has been providing updates about the shelter to the Lacey Planning Commission.
The state, Thurston County and Lacey are partners in an Inslee-initiated effort called the Rights-of-Way program, which seeks to relocate those living on state property, such as those living along Interstate 5, and get them into housing.
The first residents for Maple Court, which is located on Quinault Drive at Marvin Road, are expected to come from a homeless encampment at Sleater Kinney Road and I-5, not far from a Hobby Lobby store in Olympia.
The Thurston County region received $37 million for the Rights-of-Way program, of which $20 million was used to acquire and convert a former Days Inn into Maple Court, according to city of Lacey information.
An additional $4 million will be used for two years of site operations. The remaining $13 million will be used for a variety of programming and services for the homeless, including the development of a 50-unit tiny village off Franz-Anderson in Olympia, the Lacey information reads.
The shelter, according to LIHI, has “spacious hotel rooms, generously sized common spaces, and room for case management and services.”
Each unit has a refrigerator, microwave, TV, WiFi, closet, private bath and air conditioning. The building has sprinklers, an elevator, a laundry room, security cameras, and parking, a news release reads.
Those sprinklers caused a delay in the shelter opening, originally scheduled for June 19. But a contractor addressed the problem with the sprinklers last week, Lacey officials previously said.
LIHI staff will be on-site at Maple Court 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the release.
The on-site case managers will help residents with housing and employment applications, healthcare, transportation, counseling and re-connecting with family or friends. Staff will help people obtain identification cards, income support, and address other service needs, the release reads.
This story was originally published June 29, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
