Tumwater donates vacant house to housing non-profit

Tumwater will donate an empty house at 6541 Henderson Boulevard SE to Homes First, a non-profit corporation based in Washington.

Tumwater’s city council approved the donation after they agreed to authorize Mayor Debbie Sullivan to sign a sale agreement with the non-profit during a city council meeting yesterday, September 7.

Fees on the house have been waived, with the city covering all closing costs associated with the transfer of the property.

The house will be used as low-income housing for “women in recovery,” according to Homes First CEO Trudy Soucoup.

Soucoup told the city council that they plan to increase the number of bedrooms in the house from four to eight, which they will use to provide affordable housing for women in recovery under the Oxford House International Program.

Homes First also plans to rehabilitate the house by connecting its septic to the sewer and replacing different parts of the house.

“Lots of volunteer groups already have got in touch with us to say they want to help,” Soucoup added.

Tumwater purchased the house from the LOTT Clean Water Alliance using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and fiscal recovery funds from the state and city. Homes First is required to return the property if they are federally suspended or if they violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination for any program that receives federal funding.