EVERETT, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week Compass Health filed a proposed land-use application for phase one of its Broadway Campus Redevelopment, which will expand capacity to address regional homelessness and behavioral health issues, including mental health and substance abuse.
The organization also received a $1.5 million investment from New York-based Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) to support ongoing design and early development work for the multi-phase project. PCDC supports impactful innovation in healthcare integration throughout the United States.
The milestones mark key steps in realizing Compass Health’s vision to transform the look and function of the 3300 block of downtown Everett, providing much-needed infrastructure to deliver innovative, evidence-based models of care that meet urgent community needs.
“Lawmakers, community and business leaders, and behavioral health providers agree that modernizing our state’s behavioral health system through community-based care is the most effective solution to address the complex issues of homelessness and behavioral health,” said Tom Sebastian, CEO of Compass Health. “We are working ahead of the curve to expand our capacity at a meaningful scale, enabling us to improve the lives of more people and support an efficient and effective regional response to these issues.”
Phase one of the Broadway Campus Redevelopment, set to break ground in fall 2019, will add 82 new units of permanent supportive housing, doubling Compass Health’s housing capacity in Snohomish County.
Sited at the corner of Lombard Avenue and 33rd Street, the 47,193-square-foot, five-story multi-family building will integrate affordable housing with treatment and support services for people with chronic behavioral health issues. The ground floor will include more than 10,000 square feet for programs to support residents, along with other mental health and homelessness services, including peer support, homeless outreach and housing stabilization.
Funding for the $26 million phase one facility comes from a combination of public and private sources, including significant support from Snohomish County, the Washington State Department of Commerce, the State Housing Finance Commission and Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.
The affordable housing project will be operated under the Housing First model for Supportive Housing, which aligns with the City of Everett’s Safe Streets initiative to help individuals transition out of homelessness by providing low-barrier access to housing while they receive the other services and support they need. The building’s design – featuring four floors of residential wood frame construction over ground floor common area amenities that connect visually with the street frontage – also fits the Metro Everett Sub-Area planning vision and aesthetic for intensified development.
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).
As part of its Broadway Campus Redevelopment, Compass Health is planning a second state-of-the-art facility for behavioral health prevention and early intervention to replace its 70-year-old Bailey Center building on Broadway Avenue. This portion of the project has received nearly $4 million in Washington State Department of Commerce Behavioral Health funding, and the Washington State Legislature’s proposed budget dedicates another $3.5 million from its Building Communities Fund. This multi-phase project will require additional public resources and private funding through a dedicated capital campaign.
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.
Overall, project leaders emphasized the project’s timeliness, necessity to address critical community challenges and singular assets as key contributors to its future success.
“Homelessness and behavioral health issues are two of the most formidable challenges affecting our region – and we must use every tool at our disposal to address them,” Sebastian said. “Our Broadway Campus Redevelopment draws on synergies that just can’t be replicated: a fully owned but underutilized downtown block, an organization with the scale to make a regional impact, and highly skilled professionals implementing evidence- and community-based services that work. We’re looking forward to making this infrastructure a reality.”
About Compass Health:
Compass Health is Northwest Washington’s behavioral healthcare leader. The organization integrates behavioral health and medical care services to support clients and communities when and where they are needed. Building on a century of experience, Compass Health is forging new, nationally recognized models of care that bring together highly skilled mental health professionals, primary care providers, peer counselors and others to treat the whole person. From comprehensive mental health treatment to crisis intervention, children’s services and community education, Compass Health serves people of all ages throughout Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.
Learn more: www.compasshealth.org