Lakewood hotel to become enhanced homeless shelter, named in honor of local advocate
Seattle-based Low Income Housing Institute has purchased another property in Pierce County to help with the area’s housing shortage and homelessness crisis.
LIHI announced this month it purchased the Lakewood Candlewood Suites site, 10720 Pacific Highway SW. According to county records, LIHI bought the property Feb. 27 for $20.2 million. The hotel, built in 2010, last changed hands in 2016 for $13.36 million.
The site will be renamed to Maureen Howard Place. Howard was a Tacoma/Pierce County homeless advocate who died of cancer in January at age 78.
LIHI will convert the 83-suite hotel to an enhanced shelter for those experiencing homelessness in Pierce County, using 77 suites “for approximately 85 people including couples, singles and people with pets,” according to LIHI’s announcement.
“Six units will be converted into case management offices, housing operations and community space,” it added.
Funding for the purchase came from the state Department of Commerce Right-of-Way program initiated by Gov. Jay Inslee and funded by the Legislature.
The Washington State Department of Transportation will refer people camping along state right-of-ways in Lakewood, Tacoma and other parts of the county to the site.
According to LIHI’s announcement, the site will be staffed around the clock, and LIHI case managers will “help clients obtain permanent housing, employment, health care, and other services.”
Each suite will offer a bed, living space, bath and kitchen. The site could see its first residents as soon as May.
The move comes as the agency and others are turning to converting hotel/motel sites as one strategy to address the area’s housing shortage and encampments in public spaces.
The News Tribune reported this week that the site next to Aspen Court, the former American Lodge site, was sold to Sage Investment Group of Kirkland and Richland. That purchase followed a 2022 land-use change proposing to turn the site into apartments.
In 2022, LIHI purchased the newly constructed Heron Apartments, 1624 E. 32nd St., in Tacoma. That plan converted the former market-rate and rent-restricted units to units offering supportive housing for those formerly experiencing homelessness, along with affordable workforce housing.
The agency announced at the end of February that the site was fully leased.
In January, LIHI purchased the former Days Inn in Lacey, also as part of the state’s Right-of-Way program. The Olympian reported in February that the site was to undergo decontamination cleanup from previous drug manufacturing.
Along with property conversions, LIHI has also established tiny-house villages in the area.
In a statement, Sharon Lee, LIHI executive director, noted Howard’s role in helping people experiencing homelessness.
“She did not just worry about people sleeping outside in the cold and rain but took action to mobilize more housing, shelters and services for vulnerable people in Pierce County,” she said.
Howard’s daughter, Elisabeth, thanked LIHI for naming the Lakewood site in honor of her mother.
“My mother was passionate that everyone deserves housing, with dignity and respect,” she said in a statement. “That everyone deserves the right to get back on their feet and move forward in life. That housing is a right not a privilege. So on behalf of her husband, grandchildren, and her family, we thank you for recognizing her lifelong commitment to the housing need.”
