City of Olympia to sell Franz Anderson Rd site to LIHI for $1
- aaronl67
- Jul 11, 2023
- 1 min read
Encore Architects
The Olympia City Council voted on June 20 to sell a 188,891 SF site in the 500 block of Franz Anderson Road to the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) for $1. This vacant site is comprised of four legal lots and will be developed by LIHI into 70 units of affordable housing. This includes 35 studios and 35 one-bedroom apartments for single adults and couples who are very low income or previously homeless. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024 and will be completed in early 2026. The architect is Encore Architects.
LIHI was selected by the City of Olympia through an RFP process. $6.7 million in regional funds through the American Rescue Plan Act have also been committed for construction. These funds will help leverage other financing, including low income housing tax credits, state and other funds.
The priority populations for referral are homeless people transitioning from a tiny house village that is being built across the street from the site. This includes singles, couples and people with pets who are living unsheltered along the state right-of-way along I-5.
Jay Burney, Olympia City Manager, said, “We are proud of our longstanding relationship and partnership with LIHI in addressing houselessness in our community. The Franz Anderson site offers another great opportunity to continue our partnership and we are grateful to be moving forward with LIHI.”
“We thank the City of Olympia for selling this property to LIHI so that over the life of the building we will be able to end homelessness for hundreds more people in the Olympia area,” said LIHI Executive Director Sharon Lee.
While some urban planning might feel like navigating complex mazes from retro games, Olympia's straightforward sale of land to LIHI for just $1 shows a refreshingly direct strategy to tackle homelessness.
This sounds like a promising step towards addressing affordable housing needs in Olympia! It's great to see a vacant site being repurposed for such a vital community resource. What strategies will be employed to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of this project for its residents? I hope they have a good score at the Dinosaur Game.
The project is especially significant because it will serve dead plate people transitioning from the nearby tiny house village and those living unsheltered along I-5.
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It's great to see Olympia addressing homelessness with innovative projects like this. I wonder if the residents will have access to things like community gardens or even some simple recreational activities, maybe something as casual as a chicken jockey clicker tournament for a bit of fun and community building.