22-05-2025
77 units of affordable housing for seniors now open in Tacoma. Details here
On May 21, elected officials, leaders from the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, and project partners gathered in Tacoma's Lincoln District to celebrate the opening of an affordable project aimed at providing a dignified way of living for the community's elders.
Patsy Surh Place, in the heart of Tacoma's Lincoln District at 3740 S. G St., offers 77 units of housing for Asian Pacific Islander elders and other low-income seniors.
The project, which will be co-owned and managed by the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and Asia Pacific Cultural Center, is named after community leader and artist Patsy Surh O'Connell.
O'Connell immigrated to America as a student from Korea in 1963. She established the Asia Pacific Cultural Center in 1996 and was instrumental in creating the Korean American Artists Association of Washington State.
The new six-story building features 47 studio apartments and 30 one-bedroom units, all designated for seniors earning up to 30% and 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI). According to recent U.S. Census Bureau data from 2023, Tacoma's household AMI is $83,857.
As of the grand opening, all but 11 units had been leased.
During the grand opening ceremony, Sharon Lee, the executive director of LIHI, said 20 of the units would be reserved for homeless veterans who could be eligible for vouchers through the Tacoma Housing Authority.
Its amenities include a community lounge, multipurpose room, gallery space, outdoor courtyard, and on-site laundry facilities. The building includes commercial space for small businesses along South 38th Street.
Executive director of the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Faaluaina Pritchard, said there are plans to incorporate cross-generational programs that encourage senior residents to visit and engage with younger generations in the community to share stories and cultural knowledge.
'This project, you can mark my words, will be a model for senior housing,' Pritchard said. 'Because it is our culture to take care of our elders.'
During the ceremony Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said the project is part of a larger investment in Tacoma's Lincoln District and marks a 'remarkable transition' for the neighborhood.
'Seniors deserve to age with dignity in the community they love,' she said. 'This is what equity in housing looks like.'
She noted the city has invested roughly $10 million into the infrastructure and modernization investments into Lincoln District as part of an effort to revitalize the historic international business community.
'We believe in this neighborhood,' Woodards told the crowd.
Pritchard said the Asia Pacific Cultural Center hopes to secure funding to build a second affordable housing complex directly adjacent to Patsy Surh Place in the near future.
The $36 million project was made possible by multiple public funding contributions, including $18.5 million from the National Equity Fund through Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $5.4 million from the Washington State Department of Commerce, and $7 million from Pierce County made available through the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act.
The Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Sales Tax, named after a prominent advocate for the homeless in Tacoma who died in January 2023, has made available millions in funding for affordable housing projects across the region.
Patsy Surh Place is the latest project to be funded by the county as part of push to create affordable housing stock.
'To fully meet the housing needs of current and future residents, the county needs to produce, on average, over 2,300 units per year of housing affordable at or below 50% of area median income (AMI) through the year 2044,' the county's Housing Action Strategy of 2022 found. 'Over half of these units are needed for households at 30% of AMI or below.'
Since its implementation in 2023, the affordable housing fund has contributed to the creation of more than 1,000 units that are either built or in the pipeline, according to Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello.
