LACEY, Wash. — Lacey’s former Days Inn hotel has a new name and is almost ready for its new purpose.
The Maple Court enhanced shelter, operated by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), is expected to start taking in residents from an encampment on I-5 in Olympia next week.
The property has room for up to 150 people experiencing homelessness.
The City of Lacey is working with the non-profit, using state funds to pay for the renovation and operation of the facility for the next two years.
The city received $24 million to pay for renovations and operating costs.
Last year legislators approved $143 million in state funding to relocate campers living on state Department of Transportation properties.
The Lacey project will be taking in more than 100 residents on an I-5 encampment near the Olympia Hobby Lobby store.
“I know it’s going to work,” said LIHI Program Manager John Brown. “We’ve done this before.”
The organization runs former hotel sites for people experiencing homelessness in King and Pierce Counties.
The tenants will receive room and board, and three hot meals a day, for free.
They must agree to non-violent behavior, and cannot ingest drugs or alcohol in the facility's common areas. What they do in their rooms, is their business, said Brown. But he said they must agree to allow staff to inspect an individual's room weekly.
"Make sure the room is ok, make sure we don't smell anything we shouldn't, make sure there's no hazards anywhere, make sure it's looking livable," Brown said.
Clients who break the rules will be asked to leave.
They will also have to check in regularly with staff offering support in social services and mental health.
Lacey Interim City Manager Rick Walk said the city is excited about the project and said the rules of conduct at the facility should make the property safer than it was when it was a hotel.
"There were individuals on short-term stays, voucher systems, there really wasn't on-site 24/7 management. Our calls for service, for police response, was 400 calls a year," said Walk.
Brown said Maple Court expects to take in an additional ten clients every week, starting next week.
He knows the idea has its critics, but asked for patience.
"Everybody's had a moment in time that someone helped them. This is kind of what this is going to be, just to give individuals that need a helping hand some assistance for them to have an opportunity to do better,” said Brown.