It is a home, not an institutional building. It is situated in a neighborhood that normalizes life a little more. You’ll now be sleeping in a home in a neighborhood, and not in the basement of an urban church on a busy street.Sinan Demirel
Miller Hull partnered with ROOTS Young Adult Shelter, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit homeless service provider for young adults ages 18-25, and the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) to assist ROOTS in a phased renovation of their new facility located in the University District of Seattle. The team at Miller Hull spent months volunteering with ROOTS, understanding how staff and clients interact and use space, while simultaneously developing permit drawings for their new Emergency Overnight shelter. Intensive fast-track collaboration between ROOTS, LIHI, and Miller Hull resulted in the iteration of scope and right-sizing of program to meet ROOTS’ budget and programmatic needs within the resources and time available. Renovation of the 14,000 SF existing building included shelter, cooking, dining, case management, offices, and hygiene facilities.
Early work included outreach and integration of feedback from community partners such as Sound Health and UW Youth Clinic, as well as regulatory agencies such as Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, and Seattle & King County Public Health to fast-track the permitting process on an emergency basis.
All young people and young adults, everyone is learning and kind of stupid and kind of brilliant and figuring things out. They make mistakes. They make progress and if you have a network of support around you, you get to do that with safety. If you don’t, then you can quite easily find yourself alone and in danger and living outside. ROOTS is a place where immediate need can find ways to dream and think big about the future and do that through collaboration, partnership and community.
– Jerred Clouse, Executive Director, ROOTS
Low Income Housing Institute – Development Consultant / General Contractor
KPFF – Civil Engineering
PAE – Plumbing Engineering
4EA Building Science – Envelope Consultant
Dowbuilt – LiDAR Scanning
Quantum Consulting Engineers – Structural Engineering
Tenor – Acoustical Consultant
This project is part of our 1+ program. For more information on the program, visit our Social Equity page.