Regional Housing Council adopts 2026 RFP priorities, sets funding expectations

The Thurston County Regional Housing Council on Dec. 10 approved the recommended priorities and scoring criteria for the county’s 2026 affordable-housing request for proposals (RFP). Alex Pers, affordable housing program manager, told the council the county expects roughly $9 million in revenues for 2026, with roughly $4.9 million available for award through the RFP after administrative set-asides and pipeline and opportunity-fund allocations.

Pers summarized the advisory board’s recommendation to accept all eligible activities under the funding sources while prioritizing two areas: (1) projects that serve households at or below 50% of area median income (AMI), and (2) projects located outside the City of Olympia. The Thurston Affordable Housing Advisory Board considered previous jurisdictional unit breakdowns and regional need when recommending the priorities.

The council moved and seconded the motion to adopt the RFP priorities as presented; the chair called for the vote and the motion passed unanimously.

Pers also noted that a previously awarded $2.75 million for a 2-28 Olympia project will be partially reallocated: $1,000,000 moved to the opportunity fund and the remainder into the RFP pool, affecting available award totals. Staff said details and the full scoring table will be included in the January RFP release packet.

The council did not alter scoring criteria beyond reflecting the two stated priorities. Staff will release the RFP in January and return with final award recommendations in subsequent meetings.