SPANAWAY, Wash. — The Tacoma Rescue Mission says it will soon break ground on a new tiny home village in Spanaway.
The “Good Neighbor Village” will have 285 homes, common buildings, an art room, and a farm. It is modeled after the Community First! Village in Austin, Texas, and the rescue mission is calling it the first of its kind in Washington state.
“This is a big swing at having a deep impact on homelessness by Pierce County,” said Duke Paulson, the executive director of the Tacoma Rescue Mission.
It will be built on 90 acres of property that the Tacoma Rescue Mission purchased about a year and a half ago. It is located at the intersection of 176th and Spanaway Loop Road.
Paulson said the homes will be larger than the average tiny home, approximately 300 to 400 square feet. The people who live there will pay rent and have jobs, like working on the village farm.
“Because of the amount of people that are living here, we will have a community of people where it really is they're working and thriving together,” said Paulson.
There will be services for people on site for things like mental health and substance abuse disorder and the village will be staffed. This will be permanent supportive housing for people who are chronically homeless in Pierce County.
Paulson said they believe this village will be able to house 25% of the county's chronically homeless population.
“For someone who's been homeless for a long period of time, that has a disability or mental health issues, or long term substance abuse issues, especially the population we're targeting, the elderly,” said Paulson
He said that around 25% of people who stay in Tacoma Rescue Mission shelters are more than 60 years old. He said this village would be a good place for those people, where it is much harder for them to get out of homelessness.
“We've been seeing this trend of elderly people coming into the shelter, and it's just so much harder to reestablish something,” said Paulson. “We can help someone who's 25 or 30 get back on their feet and get going again. When you're 65, it's really difficult, and so this is a long term solution for that.”
Paulson said a decision made last week by the Pierce County Hearing Examiner has given them the green light to break ground on the village. This comes after legal challenges by some neighbors who live by where the village will be built.
“That gives us the green light to proceed with what we hope will be a groundbreaking as early as next month and construction starting for sure before the end of the year on this property,” said Paulson.
Opposition from some neighbors is still apparent, with signs opposing the village hanging on nearby fences.
A group called “Spanaway Concerned Citizens” cites concerns over the environmental impacts and land use on their website.
“I know that no one gets excited to hear Tacoma Rescue Mission is going to be your neighbor. It feels scary, but my message to them has consistently been this is different than anything we've seen in the state before,” said Paulson.
According to the Spanaway Concerned Citizens website, they filed a new lawsuit just four days ago to try to stop the village from being built.
Paulson said several community groups have offered to donate time and services to help build the village once they break ground.
He said they expect to have residents moving in by early 2026.