Thursday, October 1, 2026
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The Thurston Regional Housing Council (RHC) approved a $300,000 Opportunity Fund award to help a public agency acquire and preserve existing affordable housing for low-income tenants.
The funding request from the Housing Authority of Thurston County (HATC) was approved during the council’s meeting on Wednesday, May 27, after receiving a recommendation from the Thurston Affordable Housing Advisory Board.
The acquisition involves a fourplex at 1103 Creekwood Court SE in Olympia, which is part of the Creekwood Court apartment community near Olympia Regional Learning Academy.
The building contains four two-bedroom, one-bathroom units, all currently occupied by households earning at or below 80 percent of the area's median income.
According to a staff report, HATC plans to purchase the property for $754,000. The agency already owns five of the 13 fourplex buildings in the Creekwood Court complex.
“This would be their sixth building in that community that they would own,” said Olympia Housing Program Specialist Jacinda Steltjes. “These are occupied units, so no one will be displaced, and they will continue to rent them out.”
According to the funding application, rents are currently below market rate and will remain so following the purchase.
The acquisition package includes a $400,000 loan from Heritage Bank, a $54,650 contribution from HATC and $300,000 from the Opportunity Fund.
The Opportunity Fund was created by the RHC in 2024 to address housing needs that arise outside the county’s annual affordable housing funding cycle.
Under the program, about 20 percent of projected annual affordable housing capital fund revenues are allocated to the Opportunity Fund. Eligible uses include property acquisition, acquisition-related rehabilitation, emergency preservation projects, matching funds for certain tax-credit developments and manufactured housing community preservation efforts.
Steltjes said the fund was designed to provide a quicker response to opportunities that cannot wait for the annual request-for-proposals process.
“Anything that came up, such as a manufactured home community going up for sale or any other existing affordable housing that was at risk of losing its affordability, if it didn’t fit within our structured process, there wasn’t a funding source to respond to that need,” she said.
During discussion, Council member Nicolas Dunning of Lacey asked whether long-term affordability requirements would be attached to the funding. Dunning represents the Lacey City Counicl on the RHC.
Office of Housing and Homeless Prevention Manager Tom Webster said county funding agreements require affordability restrictions.
“We have a promissory note, deed of trust, and restrictive covenant for 20 years on the property," he said.
Under those agreements, the property must remain in compliance with affordability requirements during the restriction period, or the funding could become repayable. After the 20-year term expires, the restrictions are removed unless extended through another agreement.
The Creekwood Court request is the fifth project to receive Opportunity Fund consideration since the program’s creation. Previous awards supported property acquisition, rehabilitation and emergency preservation efforts, including projects by the Family Support Center of South Sound, HATC, Low Income Housing Institute and Homes First.
The RHC members unanimously approved the funding request.
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CommonSenseSenior
Just looked at an ad for an apartment there. $1500 a month?? You call that affordable housing for someone living on a social security check not even as much as $1500 that has to cover everything? Where is the real affordable housing for them?
Friday, May 29 Report this
Southsoundguy
What a joke.
Friday, May 29 Report this
HousingAuthorityofTC
Affordability is indeed relative to a household's income, there's no doubt that the cost to acquire, develop, and maintain housing has accelerated at a crazy pace in recent years, and many seniors are in a housing crisis.
The Housing Authority of Thurston County's (“HATC”) 600+ unit rental housing portfolio provides affordable options for neighbors with extremely low incomes, such as those with a small Social Security benefit as their only income, to those at the higher end of the low income range, such as many people with retail and service jobs.
The Creekwood purchase falls under HATC's “Rent Preservation” strategy where HATC acquires fair market priced properties that if sold to others would likely result in a significant, immediate escalation of rents. The sales marketing for these types of properties routinely emphasizes the opportunity to increase the rents. HATC's purchase maintains affordability for current residents and over time, as market rates move upward at a fast pace, the HATC unit rents trend toward being hundreds of dollars a month below market rates, enhancing the affordability for future residents.
While providing below-market-rate rents, the HATC portfolio is well-maintained and financially self-sufficient with no reliance on external government programs to maintain the quality.
The plight of housing affordability for seniors is well-recognized. Nationally, seniors are the fastest growing sector of people falling into the nightmares of homelessness, most for the first time in their long and productive lives.
In addressing that crisis, HATC purchased and converted a distressed motel property in Tumwater into housing specifically designed to be affordable to seniors whose only income is likely limited to a small Social Security benefit. Additionally, HATC is in planning stages for a development in Lacey that will also serve seniors with extremely and very low incomes.
The Regional Housing Council's support of the Creekwood purchase and of these two senior housing communities is very much appreciated.
HATC is an independent, local governmental entity that competes for housing capital grants. It receives no local or state tax funds for its housing or administrative operations. The management staff welcomes opportunities to visit with individuals and groups with an interest in its mission and operations.
Sunday, May 31 Report this