New affordable housing project planned in west Olympia. Thurston County contributes $1M
Dozens more affordable housing units may be built in west Olympia after Thurston County agreed to provide a local non-profit with $1 million to buy land.
The money is intended to help Family Support Center of South Sound buy three acres on Seventh Avenue Southwest near its service center and current housing complex, The Landing.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a contract with FSCSS on Tuesday. Trish Gregory, FSCSS executive director, told The Olympian she appreciates the county’s contribution to the project.
“We’re very grateful to the county for the funding,” Gregory said. “It will allow us to serve families with kids and survivors of domestic violence who are highly vulnerable and in-need of permanent supportive housing.”
The non-profit expects to close on the property by Dec. 20. Once acquired, the non-profit will have space to construct a new building with upwards of 60 affordable housing units. This structure would be situated on Fieldstone Drive next to The Landing, which has 62 units that the non-profit opened last year.
Units in the new building would serve the same populations as The Landing as well as highly vulnerable seniors, according to county documents.
When reached for comment, Gregory said FSCSS is considering partnering with organizations that serve seniors so they can create an intergenerational community.
“We just feel it’s important to have the opportunity for families and seniors to live in the same areas,” Gregory said.
However, construction likely won’t start for about eight years. Until then, FSCSS plans to turn four existing housing units on the land into supportive rental housing for families and survivors, county documents say.
Those existing homes include a two-bedroom duplex, three-bedroom single-family home and a one-bedroom single family home. As part of the plan, those units will eventually be demolished to make way for the large-scale development.
Gregory said FSCSS already is in the early stages of planning a second affordable housing development on the same site as The Landing.
“We want to complete the second stage of The Landing before we start any development on that site (the new 3-acre property),” Gregory said.
How will this be paid for?
The FSCSS applied to the Regional Housing Council’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board’s Opportunity Fund for the $1 million.
That fund was created last January to support projects that arise outside of the RHC’s annual request for proposals process, according to RHC documents.
County documents indicate the $1 million will be paid for using the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
This expenditure will leave the Opportunity Fund with a balance of about $400,000 “until additional funds are anticipated in 2025,” RHC documents say.
The $1 million award partially covers the $1.5 million cost of the 3-acre property. The remaining $500,000 will come in the form of seller-provided financing, Gregory said.
The RHC unanimously approved the funding award in August following recommendations from its advisory board.
The contract the Board of County Commissioners approved on Tuesday includes some conditions, such as performing inspections for the existing structures and creating a relocation plan for existing tenants before the sale closes.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
