On Wednesday, officials with King County and the City of Kirkland celebrated the grand opening of the Eastside's newest permanent supportive housing facility in the former South Kirkland La Quinta Inn. Operated by Plymouth Housing and funded through King County's Health Through Housing initiative, the project has been in the works for more than four years, and has faced considerable opposition from nearby residents and business owners.
Kirkland's first permanent supportive housing (PSH) facility for individuals directly exiting homelessness, Sheila Stanton Place includes 101 units alongside on-site medical and behavioral health care, counseling, and meal services. The building gets its name from a longtime activist in Kirkland; Sheila Stanton was a well-known fixture in the community, regularly advocating for marginalized groups, until she was killed by a driver who crashed into a Grocery Outlet where she was shopping in 2025.
The project has faced pushback since King County announced it was purchasing the vacant La Quinta property in early 2022, with much of the opposition focused on the site's proximity to several schools. A lawsuit filed by a group called "Keep Kids Safe Kirkland" later that same year, contending that King County cut corners as it advanced plans forward, but that lawsuit failed to advance with Kirkland officials quickly embracing the project.
With the La Quinta project a major issue in Kirkland's polarized council elections last year, the city ultimately came to agreement with King County on a code of conduct, a safety and security plan, and community relations plan, which includes a "good neighbor agreement."
So far, the building has been opening in phases, with only 40 units occupied while Plymouth deals with a plumbing issue that was discovered earlier this year. But initial data from June only showed four EMS responses to the building since move-in started in late January, and three Kirkland police department responses, including two off-property involving Sheila Stanton residents.
"Homelessness is not something that happens in Seattle and Bellevue, or somewhere else. Homelessness happens in Kirkland. When members of our community do not have a place to live, they feel it. Our service providers feel it. Our city teams see it every day," Kirkland Mayor Kelli Curtis said at the opening event. "Our city teams know it, and most importantly, the people living unhoused in Kirkland feel it every day as Kirkland and the region continues to prosper. We all benefit from that, but it's our responsibility to ensure that housing is available for people at all income levels, including those experiencing homelessness."
Sheila Stanton Place is the county's 15th Health Through Housing facility, and its second on the Eastside after Bellevue's Plymouth Crossing opened in Eastgate in 2023. Funding for the initiative comes from a 0.1% sales tax approved by the King County Council in 2020.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, who took office in November, has pledged to create 500 units of emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, and subsidized affordable housing across the county within his first 500 days in office, or just under a year and a half. In his remarks celebrating the opening, Zahilay referenced federal efforts to defund "Housing First" programs, which prioritize providing shelter ahead of programs to address addiction and mental illness.
"Right now, as we speak, permanent supportive housing is under attack," Zahilay said. "Just so you all know, the current federal administration doesn't like permanent supportive housing, and we're at the under a constant threat of places like this being defunded, and so as you listen to the news and you see a boogie man being put on a place like this, I want you to just look around this building. This is what they're talking about when they're trying to take resources away."
Last month PubliCola reported on efforts that could result in a significant reduction in federal dollars that are made available for permanent supportive housing projects, as the Trump administration attempts to repudiate Housing First programs, despite extensive data indicating their high success rate.
Plymouth Housing CEO Karen Lee praised Kirkland and King County for their partnership when it came to opening Sheila Stanton Place.
"When we first heard that King County Health Through Housing was looking at this La Quinta building here – it initially housed immigrants, which I think you all know – we knew that we wanted to be a part. We wanted to be a part of offering permanent supportive housing here, and we are so thankful to King County and the Health Through Housing program that we were honored to be selected to be the provider for this building," Lee said. "We know that it's the first PSH in Kirkland, we know that this is new for the city of Kirkland, and we are here to walk with Kirkland and walk with our neighbors, so that they can become friends with our residents and become friends with us, because that's what it takes for us to embed ourselves in this community, and to date we've made many friends in Kirkland, and I'm so thankful for that."
In the wake of opening its 18th building in Sheila Stanton Place, Plymouth Housing is looking ahead to the grand opening of another permanent supportive housing facility on the Eastside next year, in Redmond. That project has also had its own complicated history, starting life in Kenmore before officials cancelled it due to community opposition. The City of Redmond resurrected the proposal on a site that the City had purchased to create affordable housing.
"This is such a prime example of collaboration leading to so much positive stuff in our region, people having roofs over their heads, people having the support services that they need to thrive," Zahilay said. "This is how we will make a dent in our homelessness crisis and make sure that everybody in King County can thrive."
Amy Sundberg
Ryan Packer
Amy Sundberg
