Details emerge about low-income housing development planned near Lacey middle school

More details emerged Wednesday about a low-income housing development proposed near Komachin Middle School in Lacey.

The Housing Authority of Thurston County aims to build 60 cottage-style units — not tiny homes — on a five-acre parcel in the 5000 block of Mullen Road Southeast, the Lacey City Council and the North Thurston Public Schools board learned at a joint meeting.

The city of Lacey acquired the property from the LOTT Clean Water Alliance — the area’s sewer treatment utility — and then agreed over the summer to sell it to the Housing Authority for $1.

Housing Authority Executive Director Craig Chance told the joint meeting that transaction was finalized on Oct. 24.

“That kind of purchase, that kind of support enables us to offer low rents,” he said.

Thirty-six of the units have been earmarked for seniors with monthly rents in the $500 to $600 range. He described the future tenants as those living off nothing more than a Social Security check.

Housing Authority tenants tend to have one key challenge: They can’t afford rent anymore in our community, he said.

The remaining units will be larger and offered to multigenerational families with no age restrictions, he said. Rents will be higher, too, and open to those who earn up to 80% of area median income.

What does that amount to? Chance provided this example: A three-person household at 80% of area median income could be as high as $84,000 a year.

Community meeting

After the Oct. 24 transaction, a community meeting was held Oct. 30 for nearby residents, some of whom raised concerns about additional traffic on Mullen Road.

Chance told Wednesday’s joint meeting that the authority will work with traffic engineers and the city to mitigate traffic impacts. He also pointed out that the senior residents won’t necessarily be leaving at 7:30 a.m. for work and returning home at 5:30 p.m.

Lacey City Manager Rick Walk added that as part of the city’s technical review they will be looking at exits, entrances and other access points to make sure that “accesses are aligned with any opposing accesses” across Mullen Road.

North Thurston school board member Sarah Tracy asked about parking, wanting to make sure that the parking area is not too big, but also that it provides enough parking.

City of Lacey associate planner Reace Fant said that for a cottage-style development the standard is 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling.

Why McClanahan Village?

The project is being named for Neil McClanahan, a former longtime Thurston County undersheriff and Tumwater City Council member who served on the Housing Authority’s board, Chance said.

McClanahan died about 18 months ago.

“Neil and his wife have done so much in our community for social services,” he said.

The project is still in the early stages. Construction is not expected to start until 2026 and won’t be completed until 2027, Chance said.

There also will be opportunities to comment on the project as it goes through the city’s land-use process, which will include a public hearing before a hearings examiner.

“We want to be a good neighbor,” Chance said. “Neighbors are already in the community, and we certainly want to be an attribute to the school and city.”