EVERETT — Sixty-five new beds to give temporary housing to homeless people along Smith Avenue are expected to open by the end of 2026 under a county grant of $4 million given to the city.
The money will be used toward an expansion plan of the Everett Gospel Mission, which will ultimately end up as 108 beds and 22,000 square feet of new construction, according to the Mission’s CEO John Hull. A separate, additional up to 60 new beds will be reserved for services related to severe climate or weather emergencies.
The Everett Gospel Mission currently has 104 beds. The plan has the Mission acquire the blue warehouse buildings at 3715 and 3719 Smith Ave., next to its current Men’s Shelter, to raze them to become the new expansion building.
The new beds will replace 40 beds at the United Church of Christ downtown. The city is interested in relocating them to a different building the city planned to fund, according to a city memo. Snohomish County has set up the $4 million fund for a new shared-community shelter in Everett, according to last year’s City Counagenda on Grant Fund Acceptance. The arrangement with Everett Gospel Mission plan comes after the county’s unsuccessful attempt to acquire a church property in central Everett in 2023 after neighbors complained.
“We have sold our building to Housing Hope and we are leased out to them until the end of June (of 2025),” UCC Office Administrator Heather Suursoo said by phone.
Hull is optimistic about the possibility of getting the project off the ground.
“I’ve not received any negative feedback from the potential of the project at this point from our neighborhood. The neighborhood is really supportive of what EGM is doing,” Hull said. “And there’s a number of sources in our community that want to see this project happen.”
“The Snohomish County Council has set a public hearing for Oct. 23,” said county spokesperson Kari Bray. “After the public hearing has closed, the Council can take action on formally transferring the funds from the County to the City.”
As the Mission works to get the whole first stage of the expansion plan covered, Hull said they are pursuing funds from the state, private foundations, and individuals, in addition to the $4 million from the city.
“We’ve been operating in the neighborhood since 1991,” said Hull. “So we have good relationships with our neighbors. And we have a history of running strong supportive shelters.”
Hull said the Emergency Bridge Housing project is just one of the solutions to address homelessness in the county. The Gospel Mission usually focuses on emergency care for homeless people to stabilize and pursue further specialized care or help.
The Gospel Mission provides year-round support for food, clothing, other services and supportive services to clients.
“(It’s) a stable emergency housing environment in a congregate setting,” Hull said.
If all goes as planned the city would be able to begin moving people into the new facilities in December 2026. By that time, Hull said Everett Gospel Mission’s goal is to complete the entire phase one of their expansion plan.
For now, the Everett Gospel Mission has the design in place, including the floor plan, Hull said. “The significant part of this project is increasing the safety on our campus. We are going to implement higher security procedures than we’ve ever had … making sure everybody in the building feels safe.”
This story was produced by a journalism student at the UW News Lab for the Tribune.
