Hilltop homeless micro village to be relocated to Eastside Tacoma, expanded
The city of Tacoma will relocate its 22-unit micro shelter for the homeless from its current location on 8th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Hilltop to the Eastside, staff announced Friday.
The shelter, which opened in December to serve people living at an encampment at People’s Park, was to be temporary, with a contract that ends in August. The Hilltop shelter will be dismantled as the new location opens to make way for a low-income housing development.
The new location is on an undeveloped property at East 60th Street and McKinley Avenue owned by the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA). The site is across the street from a cabinetry business and auto-parts center.
The city hopes to expand the capacity of the shelter at its new location from 35 to 50 people. The site will be fenced and social distancing measures will be followed.
People currently staying at the Hilltop site will have the opportunity to move to the new location, according to the city. Referrals to the new site primarily will come from encampments and existing shelters.
Depending on the number of units the site will accommodate, the city is anticipating initial setup and operating cost in 2020 to be between $850,000 and $1 million.
The city hopes to get the site up and running by mid-July.
The lease agreement is still being discussed, according to the city, but THA has offered to lease the property at no cost to the city through 2021.
“THA’s commitment to addressing the housing needs of our community can be attested to daily, and this partnership to leverage a property that is awaiting future development to serve our unhoused neighbors today is another example of the important work they do to help stabilize individuals and families and create resiliency in our community,” Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said in a press release.
The city will continue to work with the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI), which currently operates the site at Hilltop.
Since the micro shelter opened, it’s served 60 people and transitioned 12 to housing, city director of neighborhood and community services Linda Stewart said during a Council meeting on Friday.
The city will hold a town hall discussion on June 4. Postcards about the relocation will be sent to residents the week of May 18.
Council members visited the site earlier this month.
“We know we need to continue to make investments in addressing housing instability in our community, and this is an important step in providing resources and shelter to the other impacted areas of the City,” Council Member Chris Beale said in a press release. “While providing shelter alone is not enough, it is an important part of treating people with dignity and providing support as they work through the process of attaining permanent housing.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 10:56 AM.
