New future for Tacoma’s defunct Gault Middle School could include housing, recreation (Tacoma Housing Authority)

Date Published: 
February 5th, 2020

From The News Tribune:

For a decade, Gault Middle School has sat vacant on Tacoma’s Eastside.

Located at 1115 E. Division Lane, the school closed down in 2009.

Now, the building’s windows and doors are boarded over from years of accumulated damage.

“We’ve had a lot of wire theft happen and vandalism,” said Alicia Lawver, strategic planning and policy manager for Tacoma Public Schools.

A new plan could breathe life back into the property.

Tacoma Public Schools is in discussions to have Tacoma Housing Authority potentially acquire the site, according to a Jan. 7 letter of intent signed by the two agencies.

“We’re excited to find a use for the property that provides community benefit and activates the site,” Lawver said in an email. “THA has shown its commitment to community engagement on past development projects, and we look forward to partnering with them in a similar comprehensive approach to finding solutions for the Gault property that truly benefit the community.”

That could include developing mixed-income housing, a community facility and outdoor recreation spaces, but nothing’s for sure yet.

Both TPS and THA “take this obligation seriously and are both committed to this possibility,” said THA executive director Michael Mirra in an email.

Read The News Tribune's article "New future for Tacoma’s defunct Gault Middle School could include housing, recreation," featuring the Tacoma Housing Authority.

CLPHA Program(s): 
Resource type(s): 

Sorry, this content is only available to members.

If you're a member of CLPHA, please click here to log in.

If you have not created your CLPHA.org account, it’s easy to create one. Click here for step-by-step instructions.

You can also click here to watch a webinar site tour that shows CLPHA members how to create website accounts for themselves and provides an overview of the site's functionality.

Otherwise, we invite you to learn more about the many benefits of CLPHA membership.