Olympia converts Martin Way building into emergency homeless shelter
The city of Olympia is converting a vacant building on Martin Way into an emergency homeless shelter for the duration of the new coronavirus outbreak, officials say. Thurston County plans to contract with local nonprofit Interfaith Works to run the temporary shelter.
“These are emergency times and require an emergency response,” Interim Assistant City Manager Keith Stahley told The Olympian Friday.
The vacant building sits on property the city purchased with Home Fund revenue in 2018 that’s slated for a joint venture by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) and Interfaith Works.
Under the plan, the LIHI would develop and manage 65 units of supportive housing, according to the city’s web page on the project. Interfaith Works would operate a 60-bed shelter there, replacing the nonprofit’s 42-bed shelter in the basement of First Christian Church in downtown Olympia.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/olympia-converts-martin-way-building-into-emergency-homeless-shelter/ar-BB11S7Yy