Project to open permanent homeless youth shelter at Tacoma senior center moves forward
The city of Tacoma is moving forward with plans to renovate and reopen a senior center as a permanent location providing services for homeless youth and young adults.
The city selected Wedderman Architecture in October for design of the project, which would renovate approximately 12,000 square feet of existing space at the Beacon Senior Center, 415 S. 13th St.
The recommended renovations would co-locate both senior services and homeless resources, including overnight shelter and drop-in services, in one building. The estimated cost is between $4.5 and $5.6 million.
A preliminary design concept splits the building into two, with senior services along South 13th Street and homeless service on the north side of the building. Both would have individual entrances along Fawcett Avenue.
The city aims to start construction in 2020. Both senior and homeless youth services will be relocated in that time. Day drop-in services moved to an alternative location at 2342 Tacoma Ave. in July with the intent of moving back once the project is complete.
The Beacon Center building, built in 1941, opened a temporary overnight shelter in 2015 as the city worked to identify a permanent shelter site. The city purchased property for a shelter at 5401 South Tacoma Way in 2017, but a feasibility study deemed it unsuitable, and it was sold in 2018.
The city instead turned its focus on the Beacon Center. As of July 2019, the center served 179 individuals, with 20 exiting into permanent housing using overnight shelter and drop-in services. Since it opened, the center has served 450 individuals. The center allocated $721,060 for homeless youth services in the biennial budget.
Currently, the center is operating at capacity at about 40 people per night, said James Pogue with Comprehensive Life Resources. CLR operates the services at the Beacon Center.
Seniors were given the option to move entirely to People’s Center but were not in favor of that option.
“What we found after the field trips was 100 percent unanimous that People’s Center was not the preferred location by the seniors, and they also reported in the survey that they were comfortable with co-locating at Beacon,” neighborhood and community resources director Linda Stewart said at a study session in July.
A feasibility study conducted on the Beacon Center released in 2018 studied three potential renovation projects that would co-locate the services:
▪ Modify existing Beacon Center footprint to accommodate 25-30 overnight beds with potential for 50, with day-use capacity of 35-50 youth and 55 seniors.
▪ Expand existing footprint to accommodate 50 overnight beds, with day-use capacity for 50 and 55 seniors with potential for growth.
▪ Demolishing and rebuilding the entire center twice its size at 24,000 square feet.
Staff recommended the first option.
Now, the public is invited to share its thoughts on the project at an open house on Thursday.
“This is a stakeholder engagement meeting to provide a project update and talk with them about concerns, questions and ideas for how to make the building and programs even more successful,” said city spokesperson Megan Snow.
About the event
What: Beacon Center stakeholder meeting
When: 5:30 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 17)
Where: Beacon Center, 415 S. 13th St., Tacoma
This story was originally published October 17, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
