SEATTLE – Construction crews are busy inside a new homeless shelter along 12th Avenue South.
The center is planned to be a dormitory-like homeless shelter, but some in the International District said they only found where it would be when the city announced a location in February.
The Navigation Center is expected to house up to 75 people once it's fully up and running.
It is being touted as a place where homeless people will be transitioned into permanent housing but some people working nearby said they wish they could have shared their input with the city.
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Neighbors upset by new homeless shelter
Q13`s Steve Kiggins reports
Nicole Dell says she gets to work at the MacPherson Leather Company before the sun comes up. Dell is also expected to deliver a baby in less than a month, and she said her ride into work can sometimes get scary.
“There’s been a couple times there’s someone sleeping on the porch or some people just hanging out,” she said. “So I just stay in my car.”
The Navigation Center is planned as a 24/7, low-barrier shelter where people struggling with mental health issues and addiction can go. It is also planned to be a place that won’t turn people away who have pets or partners.
The city says it plans to operate the facility like a dormitory with bathrooms, showers. The center could also offer meals and place for homeless people to store their property.
“I mean there has to be somewhere for them to go,” said Dell. “There’s a lot of homeless people, I can see it on the drive in for work.”
On Tuesday city crews swept dozens of homeless people living in an unsanctioned camp along Airport Way.
“I didn’t move anything, I just left,” said Bree.
Bree said she was one of those evicted, but she and many others simply set up camp down the street rather than follow the rules at some structured homeless shelters.
“I went to Mary’s Place for a week and I couldn’t do it,” she said. “I have anxiety problems. I get very claustrophobic. And being in at a certain time, I can’t do it.”
Bree said the sweeps only push the homeless center population around the city, but she hopes the Navigation Center will be different.
“I hope it doesn’t cause more problems in the neighborhood,” said Dell.
Dell isn’t the only person sharing that concern. The Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area recently sent an open letter to city leaders.
Executive director Jessa Timmer wrote:
Dell hopes her new neighbors will get the help they need but she worries what could happen once dozens of homeless people are living right across the street.
“We’ll see if it becomes an issue,” said Dell. “If it does I’ll change my hours.”
The city plans to hold community information sessions in the coming weeks, an opening date has not yet been publicized.