City of Olympia to sell Franz Anderson Rd site to LIHI for $1

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.