Hope House, a women’s shelter and low-income apartment complex that Volunteers of America Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho is developing, is expected to open next year on the western edge of downtown Spokane, says Fawn Schott, president and CEO of the nonprofit.

“We actually will break ground this fall, barring no project challenges,” Schott says.

The new Hope House will be located at 1301 W. Third, a site formerly occupied by Linnie’s Thai Cuisine restaurant.

Inland Construction & Development Co., of Spokane, will be the contractor on the planned four-story, 60-unit project, and Chris Weiland, of Architecture All Forms, designed it.

Schott estimates the construction costs at $15 million.

Each floor will have about 11,000 square feet of floor space, with living units on the second, third, and fourth floors.

Schott says 120 emergency shelter beds will be located on the ground floor, tripling the capacity of the current Hope House shelter, located at 111 W. Third.

VOA currently plans to maintain its office at its current location at 525 W. Second.

The affordable housing units will be income based, and Schott says this will be a helpful step to getting more women out of homelessness.

“It’s a great transition for them to move off the street and into the studio units,” Schott says.

The new Hope House will have flexible space for meetings, peer groups, and community support, to help women transition successfully to safer circumstances, she says.

“Different service providers who partner with us can come and utilize the space to offer services to women,” says Schott, adding a commercial kitchen will enable volunteers to assist in serving meals.

Much of the construction cost will be funded through tax credits approved last month by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Additional funding sources include Premera Blue Cross, which awarded the project a grant of $1 million last year, recognizing the need for a women’s shelter, Schott says.

The state Legislature also allocated $500,000 to Hope House, for which the VOA has committed to incorporate cross-laminated timber in the design as part of the state’s feasibility initiative regarding construction with sustainable mass-timber products, she says.

The Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund donated $200,000 last year, and a private donor also has contributed $100,000 to project, Schott says.

Schott says VOA anticipates a small capital campaign to seek support from the community for some of the fixtures and furnishings in the building including beds and outfitting the commercial kitchen.

Other low-income housing projects in the works include a 52-unit project and a 51-unit project known as Father Bach Haven IV and V, respectively, which are being developed by the Catholic Housing Services arm of Catholic Charities of Spokane.

The $4.5 million, 42,100-square-foot Father Bach IV, and the $4.2 million, 41,750-square-foot Father Bach V projects both are currently under construction next to each other at 164 S. State and 9 E. First.

Inland Construction & Development is the contractor on both four-story projects, and Architecture All Forms designed them.

Spokane Housing Ventures is developing Jayne Auld Manor, a $10.2 million, 48-unit housing project at 2830 E. Francis.

The project will include a three-story, 38-unit building and five duplex structures. 

In all, Jayne Auld Manor, which is intended to house working families, will have 23 two-bedroom units and 25 three-bedroom units. As of mid-March, a building permit application for the project was under review by the city of Spokane.

Inland Construction & Development is listed as the contractor for the project, and ZBA Architecture PS, also of Spokane, is designing it.