Olympia’s newest tiny home village has opened. Here’s how it’s going so far

Thirteen people had moved into Olympia’s newest tiny home village on Franz Anderson Road as of last week and more are expected in the weeks to come.

The 50-unit tiny home village opened on Sept. 6. Most of the initial residents are coming from an encampment near Interstate 5 and Wheeler Avenue, Tye Gundel, executive director of Olympia Mutual Aid Partners (OlyMAP) told The Olympian.

“New residents are settling into their spaces and there have been no challenges or incidents since the first group of people moved in last week,” Gundel said.

OlyMAP operates the tiny home village on a 5.9-acre property owned by the City of Olympia. The city partnered with the county to purchase the property with American Rescue Plan Act funding in early 2022, according to a news release from the Regional Housing Council.

Last summer, plans for the site integrated into Gov. Jay Inslee’s Rights of Way Initiative, a state effort to remove people living along Interstate 5 and offer them housing. To implement the initiative, the state has supplied five counties, one of which is Thurston County, with funding for various housing projects.

In the news release, Dani Madrone, who sits on the Olympia City Council and Regional Housing Council, said she feelsu888 grateful for the city’s partnership with OlyMAP and other organizations.

“This project is the result of a strong partnership among local governments, service providers, and experts in affordable housing,” Madrone said. “Staff from the Olympia Public Works Department and our Housing and Homelessness Response team worked together tirelessly to ensure this project would be a success.”

The village is staffed 24 hours a day every day and offers daily meals, hygiene facilities and a community space, according to the news release. It also has on-site services, including case management, mental health and substance use support and employment navigation.

“Having a door that can be locked and 24/7 access to restrooms, showers, laundry and food is something that most of our residents have not had for years,” Gundel said. “Access to these services has already positively impacted the health and well-being of our new residents.”

Though the transition has gone well so far, Gundel said many of the new residents have lived in unsheltered spaces for years and naturally may feel anxious about the move.

“We are honored by the trust people are placing in us by choosing to give Franz Anderson a try,” Gundel said. “We are committed to doing all we can to honor that trust and collaborate with residents to make Franz Anderson a space where all residents feel safe, welcome and supported.”

There were still about 10 people living at the Wheeler Avenue encampment as of Wednesday, but Gundel said all 10 of them are expected to make the move to the new village. That count does not include people living in vehicles along the roadway.

The City of Olympia will spend about $1 million per year for operations at the site for the next few years, according to Darian Lightfoot, director of housing and homeless response at the City of Olympia. The funds are being passed through by the state as part of the Rights of Way Initiative.

The funding may not last long term. Gov. Jay Inslee toured the Franz Anderson village earlier this month. At the end of the tour, he told KOMO news the initiative is “out of funding.”

“We’ll need the legislature in January to step up to increase funding so we can continue the progress we’re making.” Inslee said.

Inslee went on to tell KOMO that encampments may stay on state property along highways if the initiative is not funded.

“We need people to do the construction, we need people to do the outreach,” Inslee said. “We need law enforcement to be able to help. We need drug treatment to get these people off of the scourge of fentanyl. This takes a (financial) investment.”

Lightfoot previously said the City of Olympia has spent about $3 million in pass-through funding on the Franz Anderson Tiny Home Village site. However, that sum includes costs to prepare the area for a new permanent supportive housing project across the street.

That housing project is slated to open in about four years, according to the news release. It will feature 70 units that will be managed by the Low-Income Housing Institute.

Residents from the Franz Anderson village will eventually be moved into that permanent housing, Lightfoot said. Once that’s done, the city plans to develop the tiny home village into more permanent housing, he added.

The Regional Housing Council plans to continue regional collaboration on long-term solutions to homelessness, said Thurston County Commissioner Carolina Mejia.

“It’s not enough to only respond to the immediate crisis of homelessness,” said Mejia, who also sits on the RHC. “As a region, we need to develop long-term permanent housing solutions for our most vulnerable neighbors.”