Homestead Community Land Trust Acquires Hilltop Property in Tacoma for Community-Centered Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2025

Site Secured for Equitable Development and Permanent Affordability

TACOMA, WA – Homestead Community Land Trust is proud to announce the purchase of a pivotal property located at 1105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Tacoma's historic Hilltop neighborhood. Situated along the light rail corridor, this acquisition marks a significant step forward in community-driven development, ensuring the neighborhood’s aspirations for equity and self-determination are realized.

This purchase represents the first expansion of Homestead’s work into Pierce County, following several years of discussion with municipal, county and neighborhood leaders. It also represents Homestead’s inaugural urban land conservancy acquisition. Urban land conservation is the strategic preservation, management, and development of land within urban areas to prevent displacement, and achieve other environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Homestead will partner with Aya Community Land Trust, a new nonprofit that prioritizes affordable housing and community-led development. Aya and Homestead will conduct a robust community engagement process to update and confirm outcomes from previous engagement processes. This will clarify the community’s priorities for the land and will guide development to meet the needs and dreams of current and former Hilltop residents.

“Community land trusts center the voice of the community through stakeholder governance and engagement,” said Kathleen Hosfeld, CEO of Homestead Community Land Trust. “This partnership with Aya ensures that Hilltop residents remain at the heart of decisions, reclaiming and preserving the cultural and economic fabric of this historic neighborhood.”

Brendan Nelson, one of Aya Community Land Trust’s founding directors, emphasized the project’s broader impact. “Developing affordable housing in the Hilltop is essential to ensuring families and long-time residents can remain rooted in the community they’ve helped build. This work is about more than housing, it’s about preserving the heart and soul of Hilltop for generations to come.”

The statewide nonprofit Forterra purchased the property in 2019 as part of Forterra's Strong Communities Fund program, and has since made investments that increased the options for what can be developed at the site.

“Forterra’s focus has been to secure the Hilltop property for the neighborhood to realize its aspirations of ownership and self-determination,” said Forterra President and CEO Michelle Connor. “Who owns the land determines who benefits from it – with this sale to Homestead Community Land Trust, the heart of Hilltop is secured for the future.”

“Forterra showed up and unwound a complex financing structure between the landowner, Rite Aid, and a lender that had left the property stuck in limbo for a decade – locking the property off and hurting the neighborhood,” said Lyle Quasim, a member of the Strong Communities Fund Board and head of the Black Collective. “We owe Forterra respect for taking this on, bringing down the fences, removing the window grates, and providing space for community groups.”

“Forterra expresses great appreciation for the diligence and daily presence of Travis Pope supporting the Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center and the challenges of supervising this city block. His heartfelt vision for the community remains strong,” said Connor.

Homestead is grateful to Forterra for its foundational work on the property, and for the opportunity to work with community to develop and steward the land for community benefit,” said Hosfeld. Homestead intends to continue the tenancy of local arts groups at the 1105 building until future development plans are funded and construction begins.

Both organizations express gratitude to the community members who advocated for artists to occupy the property and to those who supported the continuation of their occupancy during the transition and sale process.

Celebrating its 33nd anniversary in 2025, Homestead Community Land Trust is a nonprofit housing developer and steward with 257 permanently affordable homes in trust. By focusing on neighborhoods at risk of displacement, Homestead fills the critical “missing middle” in the affordable housing spectrum, preventing displacement of modest-income households while allowing homeowners to build wealth safely. Homestead prioritizes developments in partnership with community-led coalitions that can advocate for neighborhood needs.

Homestead hired Jeff Dade as its director of Community Partnerships for Pierce County, to work alongside Aya CLT leaders in the development of affordable homeownership in the Hilltop. With a mission to enrich communities through affordable homeownership and equitable development, Aya CLT is dedicated to preserving the cultural and economic identity of neighborhoods and fostering long-term housing stability.

Media Contact: Gurjot Kang, [email protected]?

Kathleen Hosfeld, CEO, 206.909.9442, [email protected]?

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Additional Information about Homestead CLT www.homesteadclt.org

Additional Information about Aya CLT is here www.ayaclt.org

Additional information about Forterra is here www.forterra.org

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Those interested in participating in the community engagement process for the property, can sign up for additional information here: https://forms.gle/ksQLpEdJ3b8DeT8a6