Tacoma Housing Authority

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma Housing Authority developed the Arlington Drive Youth Campus for homeless youth and young adults. Giving these young people a second chance at life, the Arlington Drive Campus consists of a Crisis Residential Center (CRC) for youth and an apartment complex for young adults. The CRC houses up to twelve 12 – 17 year olds. The 5,547-square-foot building has an open floor plan which includes bedrooms, offices, observation nook where new residents can become familiar with the routines of the building, family-style kitchen, dining area, computer lab, library/study areas, secure patio, and laundry center. The adjacent apartment complex provides 58 units for previously homeless 18 – 24-year-olds. Young adults participated in the design, and amenities include on-site laundry, community room with a demonstration kitchen, bike storage, study areas, spacious floor plans with expansive windows, and secure entry. The campus will provide supportive services as well as employment and training, with social enterprises and entrepreneurial training space. Administrative offices for Community Youth Services will also be on site. The location is walking distance to a middle school, Eastside Community Center, a regional health clinic, and New Salishan. Due to longstanding systemic inequities, youth of color and LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately experiencing homelessness. The campus interrupts this inherited inequity by addressing many long-sought community goals in one central campus. The development is a strong model of how housing can be combined with supportive services at a large scale and serves as a regional asset for people in crisis throughout the Puget Sound area.

2021 Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Supportive/Transitional Housing Development • 2021 Urban Land Institute’s Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Chairman’s Award • 2021 Finalist for Housing Finance Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards