New 60-unit tiny home village could fill vacant lot in Tacoma. Here’s what we know
Plans to build a 60-unit micro-home village on a vacant lot in South Tacoma are currently underway, with the finalization of funding to happen near the end of the year, according to county officials.
The village would be built at 1824 84th Street South, near the intersection of 84th Street South and South Hosmer Street, a place a News Tribune investigation found to be one of the most dangerous streets in Tacoma last year.
This tiny-home village would be the Seattle-based Low Income Housing Institute’s third in Tacoma. Currently LIHI operates a 39-unit tiny-home village at 6th Avenue and North Orchard Street and a 66-unit village at South 69th Street and South Proctor Street.
LIHI executive director Sharon Lee said the goal is to have tiny homes on the 84th Street South lot short-term and then build permanent multifamily housing later. That would look like a four-story building with 50-65 units ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom, Lee said.
Funding for the tiny-home village would come from the state’s Right of Way initiatives, and people experiencing homelessness in and along transportation corridors and state rights of way would get first priority for the shelter, said Kari Moore, a communications specialist with the Pierce County Human Services Department.
“If Commerce communicates there is not a need for the beds during a specific time, the beds can be used to shelter other individuals experiencing homelessness,” Moore said.
The Washington Department of Commerce contracted with Pierce County Human Services to provide funding to the LIHI for acquisition, capital improvements and operations for the tiny home village, Moore said in an email.
“We are working on contracts for the acquisition funding now and expect them to close by end of this year,” she said.
What would the village look like?
The tiny-home village would have a community kitchen, showers, laundry, 24/7 staffing, security and case managers to help residents find permanent housing, jobs, income support and other services to help them get back on their feet, Lee said. The tiny homes would be sized 8 feet by 12 feet, and most of them have been built by volunteers, she said.
Couples and pets would be allowed at the enhanced shelter, Lee said. There also would be a code of conduct and behavioral expectations residents would need to comply with, she said.
“The idea is to have people have a temporary stay and then quickly move them into housing and other options,” Lee said. “Including reunite them with family or friends. Maybe if they need services or transitional housing or other facilities that would be more suitable.”
LIHI scoped out about 30 different sites before choosing the current one, Lee said. The fact that it was a vacant lot close to public transportation was a plus, she said.
“One of the immediate neighbors is a storm-water retention [building]. So that’s an attractive neighbor,” Lee said. “We know that Hosmer is changing over time. There are a number of hotels that are changing over to housing, ... apartments. I think there’s three or four sites already on Hosmer that are changing over.”
Lee said Aspen Court, a hotel LIHI converted to transitional housing located at 8620 S. Hosmer St., will be changing into permanent supportive housing soon following needed renovations.
“The City of Tacoma funded us for a shelter for two years and then their contract ends, so we can no longer run it as a shelter,” Lee said. “The City of Lakewood gave us operating funds through December.”
LIHI is still working on a timeline for renovations to Aspen Court, Lee said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
