25-05-2025
Thurston County OKs awarding $950,000 for Tumwater affordable housing project for seniors
Thurston County will pay $950,000 to help rehabilitate 24 units of affordable rental housing for seniors in Tumwater.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a contract with the Housing Authority of Thurston County last Tuesday for that purpose.
The housing units are part of the Sterling Pines development at 5895 Capital Blvd. SW, formerly known as Tumwater Inn and Suites. About $9.8 million from state and local sources had previously been dedicated to the project, but more funding was needed to pay for higher-than-anticipated rehabilitation costs.
County documents indicate HATC needs to replace drywall and insulation in the walls and ceiling of the complex due to asbestos and methamphetamine contamination.
HATC's director of development and administration Tom Rawson said, 'We're ecstatic!'
HATC Executive Director Craig Chance echoed that sentiment. 'We are very grateful for the support of the Regional Housing Council and the Board of County Commissioners,' Chance said.
Renovations are expected to be completed by late January 2026 and seniors are expected to start moving a month later, Chance said.
Sterling Pines will feature two studio, 13 one-bedroom and 9 two-bedroom units for seniors 62 and older.
Half of the units will be reserved for households that make at or below 30% of area median income (AMI); the other half will be for households at or below 50% area median income. The most recent figures for Thurston County's AMI put it at about $93,000; that means 30% would be about $28,000 per year, and 50% would be about $46,500.
'Sterling Pines will provide affordable, good quality housing for seniors who are struggling with incomes typically limited to a modest Social Security benefit,' Chance said.
Chance said Sterling Pines is being funded without debt and will be backed by the 'strength of the HATC property portfolio, so it will not be reliant on vouchers or other operating subsidies.' HATC leadership felt motivated to take this approach due to low and seemingly disappearing federal funding, he said.
Chance said the U.S. Congress funds the federal housing voucher program at a level that at best serves 25% of income eligible households, and the current budget proposal in Congress includes substantial funding reductions.
'In America, seniors are the fastest growing segment of people entering the nightmares of homelessness, most of them for the first time in their long lives,' Chance said. 'Every week we hear from seniors either in or nearing the crisis.'
Chance said these seniors typically do not have mental or behavioral health issues that drive them to homelessness. He said they simply cannot afford market-rate housing on fixed incomes.
HATC purchased the property in 2023 with the help of a Rapid Capital Housing Acquisitions funding award from the Washington state Department of Commerce.
HATC has spent over $700,000 of its own funds for the project but was still coming up short due to the extreme contamination in the building.
'By removing the contamination, replacing defective building components, and bringing the property up to code, the units will be, in essence, new units,' Chance said.
'Doing it right, as opposed to making shortcuts, is consistent with our goal of making the property a safe, nice place to live and an attractive neighborhood asset for decades. Cutting corners was not an option.'
Without the new funding from the county, HATC would have likely been forced to spend more of its own cash reserves.
'HATC properties are financially self-substantiating; those reserves allow the agency to replace roofs, re-paint buildings, etc., without reliance on grants or other sources,' Chance said. 'Thus, taking a large amount from capital improvement reserves was not a desirable option.'
Such an outcome would have likely caused HATC to cut services, defer spending on other projects or even raise rents at Sterling Pines or other properties. Given HATC's affordability goals, Chance said raising rents was 'not a good option.'
The county is using the Regional Housing Council's Opportunity Fund to provide the $950,000 award.
The council, which makes recommendations to the county commission, created the fund in January 2024 to provide money for projects outside its annual request-for-proposals process.
HATC originally applied for the funding via that RFP process in February, but the RHC's Affordable Housing Advisory Board decided in March that the request could best be met by the Opportunity Fund.
'To receive an award from the Opportunity Fund, the project must be emergent in nature, have been unforeseen at the time of the most recent RFP, and need the funding in order to actualize the project,' said Jen Freiheit, director of Thurston County Public Health and Social Services.
Freiheit said the Opportunity Fund was at about $2.15 million at the start of the year. After this award, the fund will have $1.2 million.
County documents indicate 20% of anticipated annual revenue for affordable housing capital projects is placed in the Opportunity Fund.
