HDC Project Highlight: Plymouth’s Bob & Marcia Almquist Place
Congratulations to Plymouth Housing in opening their newest development, the Bob and Marcia Almquist Place, this April. Located in the Chinatown-International District, Almquist Place is the first building of the recent PROOF campaign, which serves as proof that Seattle can end homelessness.
In prioritizing housing first, Plymouth’s permanent supportive housing breaks a cycle that many experiencing homelessness struggle to navigate. Their homes provide stability, privacy, and a sense of belonging. This approach works – 97% of Plymouth’s residents succeed in maintaining permanent home after leaving homelessness.
Bob and Marcia Almquist Place consists of 102 new studio units of permanent supportive housing, with an additional three units for live-in staff, intended to house adults transitioning out of homelessness. Supportive services include case managers to serve individual needs, on-site nursing and medical care, behavioral health treatment, counseling, and hospice care, among many others. In providing a permanent home, residents can stay within their home for as long as they need, until they are ready to move into a different permanent living situation. “Some residents live with us for the rest of their lives, and we’re lucky to have them as bedrock members of our community,” says Plymouth.
Being Plymouth’s first development in the Chinatown-International District, Almquist Place represents a plethora of community partnerships rooted in putting housing first. Both Asian Counseling and Referral Services (ARCS) and Friends of Little Saigon helped welcome the project to the neighborhood.
In a recent DJC interview, Tim Parham, Plymouth’s Director of Real Estate explained, “Our housing is needed now more than ever.” With skyrocketing unemployment—which is still on the rise—the impacts of COVID-19 are not fully known yet. Despite all the challenges the pandemic has introduced to our sector, Bob and Marcia Almquist Place is currently housing over a hundred individuals. In so many ways, Bob and Marcia Almquist Place represents hope and determination in putting housing first.
The building’s name comes from Plymouth founders, Bob and Marcia Almquist. Together, the couple helped create the Plymouth Housing Group in 1980. At that time, Seattle’s housing crisis was a major concern of the faith community and spurred involvement from the Almquist’s church. Their continued involvement, in both staff and board capacity, helped shaped Plymouth into the organization it is today. Bob and Marcia Almquist Place is the perfect encapsulation of their legacy and commitment to putting housing first.
Keep up the wonderful work, Plymouth!
