Habitat for Humanity Selected for the Boulevard Road Site

The City of Olympia is excited to announce the selection of South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity as the preferred development partner for the 3900 Boulevard Road property.

On January 5, 2022, the City issued a Solicitation of Interest seeking a development partner for the City owned property at 3900 Boulevard SE. The City received 12 responses which were reviewed and discussed by the City Council on March 22. The Council articulated their top priorities to guide selection, which included the degree of housing affordability, home ownership opportunities and the inclusion of a neighborhood center. Habitat was selected to proceed into an exclusive negotiation agreement with the City as their proposal achieves all three objectives to a high degree.

Habitat for Humanity is uniquely positioned to deliver a high volume of affordable housing that residents will own and has the ability to keep the housing designated as affordable in perpetuity. Habitat’s objective is the creation of owner-occupied housing that is affordable to people making 30-80% of the area median income. Habitat home buyers purchase their homes for an affordable price and the organization uses grant funds to subsidize the cost of the development and sale of homes.

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity’s proposal articulates a vision for a mix of owner-occupied townhomes and “senior cottages” with the inclusion of a small neighborhood center. Approximately 100-110 units are anticipated to be developed as part of this project. Over 50% of the homes will be ADA accessible, and all units will be built to the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard. ESDS contains criteria that safeguards health and safety, increases durability, promotes sustainable living, preserves the environment and increases energy and water efficiency.

As a next step, the City will begin to work with Habitat on the creation of an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement. This agreement will outline shared commitments between the two parties for the next 180 days. During this period Habitat will complete their due diligence for future development of the site and the two parties will negotiate a purchase price for the land. Additionally, Habitat will initiate a neighborhood engagement process, refine their development concept and financing plan, and identify an additional development partner to assist with the neighborhood commercial center component.

This partnership between the City and Habitat aligns with the Olympia Housing Action Plan by meeting five of the seven identified housing gaps in our region: affordability, supply, variety, stability, and housing options for seniors. The project also strongly aligns with Strategy 1 of the Plan to increase the supply of permanently affordable housing for households that make 80% or less of area median income.