Thurston Housing Land Trust

This year, THLT has had the privilege of partnering with the University of Oregon’s Institute for Policy Research and Engagement. Thanks to a connection through THLT board president Rebeca Potasnik, an alum of UO’s School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management, we were able to work with students eager to apply their academic learning to a local challenge. Student teams conducted research to help us identify publicly owned land in Thurston County that could potentially support affordable housing development.
 
Last year, THLT engaged in robust strategic planning, and one of our strategic directions is infill development. As we explore new construction—including offsite construction methods and pre-approved ADU designs aimed at making housing more cost-predictable—access to affordable, developable land remains one of the biggest hurdles we face.
 

The student team developed a structured, replicable process for identifying publicly owned parcels that may be suitable for affordable housing development and potentially available as surplus land. They tested their process by reviewing land owned by the cities of Lacey, Tumwater, and Olympia, then screening parcels using criteria related to development feasibility, including parcel size, zoning designation, proximity to transit, and other factors.

Public surplus or underutilized land presents a strategic opportunity to reduce acquisition costs and increase affordable housing options. Local jurisdictions—including cities, school districts, the county, and the port—own a significant amount of land, including many vacant or underused parcels. Some of this land is being held for specific future uses, while some may no longer be needed for its original public purpose.
 
State laws guide how governments value and dispose of surplus land. Historically, these laws often required governments to sell surplus property at fair market value. However, recognizing the growing housing crisis, the Legislature has amended these laws in recent years to allow and encourage the transfer or lease of surplus public land at low or no cost for affordable housing.
 
We are grateful for this partnership with the University of Oregon and for the students’ energy, curiosity, and commitment to this project. For a young organization like ours, this kind of partnership is genuinely transformative. We look forward to putting their research to work as we grow our portfolio and create more pathways to affordable homeownership in our community.