New affordable senior housing apartments on the way for Tacoma. Here are the details
Story updated Friday with additional details from Shiloh Baptist Church.
More affordable housing, this time for seniors, is coming to Tacoma.
Permitting applications have been filed this month with the city for Greater Christ Temple Church’s senior housing project at 1951 S. Yakima Ave.
The plans call for a four-story apartment building with 63 affordable units for seniors with amenity spaces and parking, according to the site-development application. Twenty-three parking spaces are planned.
A 2022 News Tribune article introduced both the Greater Christ Temple Church project and Shiloh Baptist Church’s plans for affordable units, which are nearing completion.
At that time, both church’s leaders highlighted the need for such housing amid rising housing costs and gentrification.
Apartment List, a rent listing and monitoring service, noted in its November report that rents in Tacoma remain up 1.2% year-over-year and continue to outpace the national average.
Roberta Schur is senior housing developer with Beacon Development Group of Seattle, which is development consultant on the Greater Christ Temple Church project. Schur told The News Tribune via email, “Assuming all funding is received by January, construction will start at the end of June/early July” of next year.
The development’s cost is anticipated at $32.6 million. Anticipated funding sources include the city and Pierce County, the Housing Trust fund, CHIP, low-income housing tax credit equity and Capital Magnet Fund.
Schur estimates construction taking 14-15 months, with “full occupancy expected by the end of 2026.”
Units “will be affordable to people at 30% and 50% of the area median income,” she said via email, with 13 units reserved for those at risk of homelessness.
Median family income in Pierce County is at $112,300, according to federal calculations.
“Common area amenities include a community room, coffee bar, library/computer lab, fitness room, common laundry, outdoor patio area,” she added, with “stunning views to the east and west.”
The project is a partnership between HumanGood Affordable Housing and Greater Christ Temple Church, and has been in the works for several years, according to Pastor Prentis Johnson.
Environmental Works is the architect, and general contractor is Walsh Construction.
As for Shiloh Baptist Church’s New Life Apartments, 815 S. 13th St. and 1206 S. I St., Pastor Chavis Young told The News Tribune on Friday via email that the first building opened to residents Oct. 1, “and the second building will begin occupancy January 15, 2025.”
New Life’s website states that all available apartments for now are taken.
Young added that the site’s waitlist “is quite extensive due to the outpouring of individuals that desired to live in Shiloh New Life apartment buildings.”
He noted that the last count of applicants was 150 for the site’s 60 units.
Shiloh’s project is not focused on senior housing, but rather will serve low-income individuals at 30% or 50% of the area median income.
More information on the Shiloh New Life Apartments is available at liveatshiloh.com
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
