EVERETT, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and other luminaries gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first phase of Compass Health’s Broadway Campus Redevelopment, a state-of-the-art regional center designed to bring together a full continuum of behavioral healthcare, primary healthcare and permanent supportive housing services in downtown Everett.
Phase one, slated to open in 2021, will include 82 new units of permanent supportive housing for people with chronic behavioral health challenges, including units available to military veterans and individuals transitioning to the community from Western State Hospital. This project will double Compass Health’s housing capacity in Snohomish County and demonstrates the impact of critical housing protections for at-risk groups, like those championed by Senator Cantwell.
Inslee, Cantwell, Larsen, Franklin and Compass Health CEO Tom Sebastian were among the leaders who spoke at the groundbreaking event, addressing Washington’s statewide strategy to leverage community-based care, diverting patients from inpatient settings and easing the burden on local hospitals, law enforcement and homeless services.
“Too many Washingtonians are homeless and in need of stable housing right now,” Governor Inslee said. “We should celebrate Compass Health’s plans to provide more than 80 units of permanent supportive housing in Everett. I’m proud of the state’s investment in this project and investments throughout the state to support behavioral health and address homelessness.”
Poised to fill this need, the Broadway Campus Redevelopment project will help lead a regional transformation of fragmented medical, mental health and addiction treatment systems toward a new future of integrated care that promotes whole person health.
“This project will not only transform the entryway into Everett, it will create a central hub in our community that is dedicated to benefitting neighboring residents and businesses,” said Compass Health’s Sebastian. “This is an unparalleled opportunity to leverage an underutilized downtown block, especially as an organization with the scale and skilled professionals necessary to make our vision for evidence-based, whole person care a reality.”
Funding for the $26 million phase one supportive housing facility comes from a combination of public, private and philanthropic sources, including significant support from Snohomish County Housing and Community Services, Housing Authority of Snohomish County, Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Washington State Housing Finance Commission, National Equity Fund, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Coastal Community Bank, Impact Capital, Premera Social Impact, KeyBank N.A. and the Washington Community Reinvestment Association. Individual, corporate and foundation donors also provided generous philanthropic support. A list of funding partners can be found at the Compass Health Broadway Redevelopment page.
The development team includes Lotus Development Partners (Development Manager); Environmental Works (Architect); and BNBuilders (General Contractor). Other consultants include Harmsen (Civil Engineer); Swensen Say Faget (Structural); Sider & Byers (Mechanical and Electrical); and Thomas Rengstorf (Landscape Design).
Crews will begin work in February on the supportive housing facility, a five-story, 47,000-square-foot building designed to operate under the Housing First model for supportive housing. This initiative aligns with the City of Everett’s Safe Streets program, which is designed to help individuals transition out of homelessness through low-barrier access to housing and other on-site services.
“Each new affordable housing project that gets built takes more people out of the dire situations they’re in and gives them an opportunity to move forward,” said Senator Cantwell. “Projects like this show the power of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit to provide resources to our communities.”
The facility’s residents will include eligible veterans who are experiencing homelessness, under the Housing Authority of Snohomish County’s VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) Voucher program; community members experiencing homelessness referred by Investing in Futures, Snohomish County’s Coordinated Entry process; and individuals transitioning back into the community from Western State Hospital and other treatment settings. The project’s 10,000-square-foot ground floor is dedicated to services including mental health treatment, peer support, homeless outreach and housing stabilization.
The building’s design fits the Metro Everett Subarea planning vision and aesthetic for intensified development, featuring four floors of residential wood frame construction over ground floor common area amenities that connect visually with the street frontage.
“We are thrilled to put shovels in the ground and take this step forward to expand our services and improve instances of care,” Sebastian said. “Although this is just the start of our project, it’s a privilege to transform this city block and see our community rallying behind us. We’ve been planning for a long time, and now we can finally see that first physical footprint of where we will host our peer support and homeless outreach programs.”
For the second phase of the redevelopment, Compass Health is planning a behavioral health prevention and early intervention facility to replace its 70-year-old Bailey Center building on Broadway Avenue. This portion of the project has already received partial funding from Washington State Department of Commerce’s Behavioral Health Facilities and Building Communities Funds, Primary Care Development Corporation and private contributions from individual, corporate and foundation donors. Organization leaders continue to seek additional funding from private and public sources to complete this ambitious project.
Phase three of the campus redevelopment, still in the early design stages, is projected to focus on integrating behavioral health services with a primary healthcare clinic and pharmacy, in addition to supporting other services.
As one of the state’s oldest and largest community-based behavioral health organizations, Compass Health hopes to continue its legacy of advocacy throughout the three stages of the project.
“At Compass Health, we serve more than 22,000 people annually throughout the five counties of Northwest Washington and we see the challenges of mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness in our communities every day,” Sebastian said. “As we begin setting the foundation for this first phase, we can’t wait to see and feel the magnitude of this project’s impact throughout Everett and beyond.”
For project updates, visit the Compass Health Broadway Campus Redevelopment here: www.compasshealth.org/broadwayredevelopment.
About Compass Health
Compass Health is Northwest Washington’s behavioral healthcare leader. A community-based healthcare agency, Compass Health integrates behavioral health and medical care services to form a key section of the community safety net and serve clients and others in need of care and support. From comprehensive mental health treatment to crisis prevention and intervention, supportive housing, children’s services, community education and much more, the non-profit organization serves people of all ages throughout Snohomish, Skagit, Island, San Juan, and Whatcom counties.