The Port of Olympia commissioners expressed willingness to collaborate with the Regional Housing Council (RHC), directing Port Executive Director Sam Gibboney to reach out to discuss the Housing Authority’s plan to purchase the former OYO Hotel building.
The building is located in Tumwater, on Port of Olympia property that is controlled by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules. The RHC is an interlocal commission established by the county and Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Yelm. The Housing Authority of Thurston County is a division of the county and owns some housing and operates programs to assist low-income renters.
During the commission’s meeting last night, Commissioner Amy Evans Harding recalled they previously requested the staff to investigate what it would take for the FAA grant a waiver that would allow the hotel to be used as a full-time residential building. She said a report was completed, and they can use the information for RHC to consider the property as an alternative to meet the community's housing needs.
"The barrier for us to demonstrate the financial requirements seems rather high," Evans Harding said. "But if we quantify what that cost and time would be, then we could get some insight from our partners on whether this is the best path forward. Then, we would need to decide where to go from there."
The report that Evans Harding mentioned has not yet been released to the public.
Evans Harding said getting some context as to what other initiatives RHC are working on might help them understand whether they would pursue the plan to use the OYO Hotel for permanent housing.
Evans Harding said reaching out to RHC and discussing a potential collaboration would give them a better understanding of the potential costs and timeline. "We would have to decide based on the feedback that we got from them."
"I agree that collaboration with RHC would most likely be a benefit. Collaborating with RHC…we can at least be a part of the solution," Commissioner Bob Iyall said.
Earlier, the Port of Olympia commission expressed its intention to explore the specific work further to see a lift of FAA restrictions.
According to the Port's website, the property was originally acquired for airport purposes under the Federal Surplus Property Act. Because of this, the property isn't allowed for long-term residential use.
In May 2021, the Port requested the FAA to terminate the deed restrictions for the properties on which the OYO and Comfort Inn hotels reside.
The Port announced its plan to enable the sale of the hotel. The Thurston County Housing Authority has expressed interest in purchasing the hotel to convert it into permanent supportive housing.
Doublespeak from the FAA and Port
The FAA replied on June 29, 2021, suggesting that the Port should consider releasing the land from being part of the airport, but "a proposal for a total release permitting the sale and disposal of real property acquired for airport purposes under the Surplus Property Act shall not be granted unless it can be clearly shown that the disposal of such property will benefit civil aviation."
Further, the Port’s website reinforces the challenge to the proposed collaboration by stating this: “Only benefits to the airport may be cited as justification for the release, whether tangible or intangible. The non-aviation interest of the sponsor or the local community – such as making land available for economic development – does not constitute an airport benefit that can be considered in justifying a release and disposal.”
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jimlazar
This is an utterly awful location for low-income senior housing.
It is an entirely auto-dependent location. It is walkable to nowhere. So the residents will save a little on their rent, but have to own a car.
By contrast, low-income senior residents at SHAG, on North Capitol Way in Olympia, are a fairly easy walk to Thriftway supermarket, and one block from the Intercity Transit bus depot.
And, the OYO is an older building, with many system deficiencies in plumbing, heating, ventilation, and other components.
It would be far better for the Housing Authority to "do it right" by building a new building from scratch, designed to be low-income senior housing from the beginning, and located close to a supermarket in Lacey, Olympia, or Tumwater. The construction costs will be higher, but the transportation costs, energy costs, water costs, maintenance costs, and quality of life will be much better.
It's time to abandon this dumb idea. The Port should drop its efforts to get federal approval, and the Housing Authority should make a smarter decision elsewhere.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 Report this
Southsoundguy
Yet another attempt by a port to pull some shady deal that doesn’t actually benefit the community.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 Report this
Tractor1
To put it mildly, the location does suck. Please stop entering into projects that look good but will be a total disaster. Just remember that the Port has zero money -- they have the taxpayers money
Thursday, June 30, 2022 Report this