(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s ambitious program to create new temporary housing for the homeless is finally creating new units.
The first 50 housing units will be ready on Tuesday.
While it’s far short of the mayor’s promised 500 units to be ready before the World Cup begins on June 15, Wilson took a victory lap on Sunday.
The mayor, surrounded by supporters at a new tiny home village in Seattle’s Interbay section, noted that the city had worked with a private developer to create a tiny home village in just a few months.
“What has been accomplished here is remarkable,” she said in remarks at the ceremonial opening of the housing village. “From site selection to opening day, this project moved from concept to reality in approximately five months. That has been one of the fastest shelter development timelines our city has ever achieved.”
Wilson was cheered by supporters in an event reminiscent of a political rally.
Several housing units decorated with balloons were open for inspection on Sunday. Each unit is its own individual building with a small desk, a chair, a bed, and a storage area. Bathrooms and kitchens are communal, shared by residents in separate buildings. Continental breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily by a catering company, so the kitchens are more for making snacks
Wilson’s program calls for 4,000 new units of temporary housing in the four years of her administration.
Whether the city can scale up the production of new housing units to meet long-term goals remains to be seen.
Wilson said the building of the 500 new units before the World Cup was an aspirational goal. While it won’t be met, she said new units are coming online at a rapid pace, demonstrating the city’s commitment to building new housing.
Unlike previous housing projects, the city acquired the land behind a Whole Foods Supermarket itself rather than waiting for a homeless housing developer to begin purchasing a site.
The city then contracted with a developer, Pallet Shelter of Everett, to build the 70-square-foot housing units.
Pallet Shelter CEO Amy King said the developer has built tiny housing villages in around 100 U.S. cities, but never so quickly.
“We signed the lease to use this space on April 7. We got our permit notification to proceed on May 7,” King said. “I have never received permits that fast, ever. I’m not sure anyone has.”
While the first 50 units will be filled by the unhoused starting on Tuesday, another 25 units will open later in the month, Wilson said.
Some of the other tiny housing villages for the homeless in Seattle, built before Wilson became mayor, have been controversial.
Cases of drug addicts using and selling drugs openly in some villages have marred efforts to help the unhoused.
Wilson said this new village will provide intensive mental health services to help people get back on their feet, with a higher level of services than in other temporary housing complexes.
Andrea Suarez, executive director of We Heart Seattle, a grassroots organization that works with the drug-addicted and mentally ill homeless population, said she was encouraged by the planned intensive treatment approach at the new homeless complex.
“I’m refreshed to hear that there will be more staff on site,” she said.
Suarez has been critical of other tiny home villages in Seattle, stating that the city’s policy to accept any homeless person fails to screen for drug addicts or others who might not be appropriate for the temporary shelter.
Wilson said another 228 units at other sites are scheduled to be built by this summer and that getting the homeless off the street is her highest priority.
Seattle has committed $17 million to build the first 500 housing units. In doing so, it is bypassing the King County Regional Homeless Authority.
Seattle contributes more than $100 million yearly to the authority, which also provides temporary and permanent housing for the homeless.
The authority was the subject of a critical external audit in April that found it couldn’t track how millions of dollars intended for the homeless were spent.
The Seattle City Council has given Wilson until Aug. 1 to decide whether the authority should be dissolved.
Wilson would not tip her hand on Sunday, telling The Center Square that she was still studying the issue, but remains concerned about the authority’s fiscal management.
