“Where can they go?” The question arose from a group of volunteers working on a cold, rainy night in late 2017 at the only young adult shelter in Pierce County, as they witnessed the youth under the age of 18 filing out into the miserable night. The shelter provided a meal and respite for youth (13-17) and young adults (18-24) with no place to call home during the evenings. But at 10 pm, those under age 18 were required to leave due to regulations for housing youth.

“Where can they go?”

The answer chilled like the incessant winter rain: “There is no place for them.”

Pierce County did not have a shelter for young people under 18 who were experiencing homelessness. These young people were forced to leave the warmth and safety of the young adult shelter and try to survive the night on the streets.

This unacceptable answer launched these compassionate moms on a mission: To find a place for our young and vulnerable.

Their tireless work led to The Coffee Oasis coming to Tacoma and the establishment of Serra House, the first underage youth shelter in Pierce County, in August 2019.

The Coffee Oasis has been serving youth in Bremerton and throughout Kitsap County for 25 years. The Coffee Oasis’ distinctive model of artisan coffee businesses paired with compassionate youth programs have provided the answer to “Where can they go?” for a quarter-century. What began as a small safe place for Bremerton street youth to gather has grown into a continuum of services, including emergency shelter, street and school outreach, and meaningful relationships with compassionate adults who help our most vulnerable youth identify and navigate a path to achieving their full potential. The coffee businesses offer a “third place” for the community to gather, with the added value of all business revenue supporting youth programming.

Serra House

Serra House was the first step in addressing the critical need in Tacoma and Pierce County-to provide safe shelter to youth under 18 who had no place to go. But its 6 beds were not enough, and it didn’t offer the space for a coffee shop and drop-in center to complete our model.

Serra House, the first underage youth shelter in Pierce County opened in August of 2019.

New Location = New Opportunities

In December 2020, we moved into our new location at the corner of Tacoma Avenue and South 15th Street, right in the heart of the city. The new location not only doubled the capacity of our 2nd floor shelter named “The Loft,” but the first floor provides the perfect place for our first Pierce County coffee shop and drop-in center.

A Bridge to Affordable Housing

The location also offers an opportunity to one of the greatest challenges our young people face—a bridge to affordable permanent housing. Emergency shelter is just that—it’s a safe place to go to get off the streets in an emergency, but it’s not a permanent housing solution. Our young people face an almost impossible challenge to find a place they can afford and rent when they’re ready to leave our shelter. Our new location is connected to a 12-unit efficiency apartment building! We have entered into a 5 year lease for our current building, but negotiated a purchase option to buy both buildings!

We plan to use these apartments to create affordable housing that young people can rent, while still receiving coaching and support from our staff to help them to learn to live independently, while they build income to be able to transition to market-rate housing when they are ready.

The Coffee Oasis shelters have been the answer to “Where can they go?” in Tacoma for 2 years. In that time, we’ve provided more than 110 youth with over 4400 bed-nights of warmth and safety. Our street outreach and mobile case management to hundreds of youth on the street, including young people involved in gangs, commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking, teen moms, and youth dealing with abuse, mental health issues, and chemical dependency.

We’re watching youth craft stories of growth and transformation, including this story as told by Julie Easley, our Youth Program Director:

Alia moved in to our shelter right after we opened in the fall of 2019. She was newly pregnant, 16 years old and attending Stadium High School. She has moved 7 times since leaving our shelter and having her baby. In June 2021 Alia got her first full time job and graduated from high school (the first in her family to graduate from high school). The day after graduation she moved into her first apartment with a lease in her name for her and her daughter. I can hardly believe it. I am overwhelmed with emotions and pride for her accomplishments, grit, and tenacity. It has been a hard journey and she did it!!!!

Help build a brighter future for youth like Satori in Tacoma.

Our Tacoma Ave Café and drop-in center are designed, permitted, and ready to begin construction. We are ready to begin the buildout, and are asking for support to fund not only the construction costs of the improvements, but also the funds to purchase both properties. We are inviting our community members to partner with us to secure this place as The Coffee Oasis’ permanent place—the answer to “Where can they go?” for generations to come.

Will you join with us in our goal to raise $2.75 million by June of 2023 to complete the construction of our coffee shop and drop-in center, and to make this our place, our young people’s place, for our next 25 years and beyond?

Additional Detail on Property

The Coffee Oasis has an incredible opportunity to purchase the property currently housing The Loft Tacoma Youth Shelter and future home of our first Pierce County café and youth drop-in center. The purchase option includes a second building which will provide 12 apartments for youth and young adults exiting homelessness to access affordable housing while building rental history and independent living experience.

Property includes ~16,350 square feet of land, 2 paved parking lots totaling 15 spaces.
1424 Tacoma Ave S: 2 story building currently under lease to The Coffee Oasis. 4 years remaining on initial 5-year term, with 5 year option. ~6100 square feet divided between 2 floors:
- 1st floor commercial space to be built out as café and youth drop in center
- 2nd floor currently in use as The Loft Youth Shelter, a 12-bed DCYF-licensed shelter for 13-17 year-olds
509 S. 15th St: 4 story building zoned for 12 apartments, common kitchen and bathroom spaces on each floor. This property is NOT leased to The Coffee Oasis, but would be included in the purchase of the property.
Location: The corner of South 15th Street and Tacoma Ave offers an exceptional location for our purposes.
- Retail: One coffee shop (Alma Mater) is located 2 blocks away; very few other breakfast/lunch/coffee locations within 6 block radius; significant potential demand in multiple luxury condo buildings within 2 blocks.
- Youth services: Centrally located and on major bus routes, site is easily accessible for a high concentration of the youth and young adults we serve. Very close to many partner organizations.

Valuation: This unique mix of residential and commercial is difficult to assign a value.
- Gross Rents method: easily supports a purchase price of $1.8 million.
- Replacement Cost method: $2.9 million: 9700 sf at $200/sf construction =$1.94 million for the buildings. A similar-sized undeveloped parcel 2 blocks away (1546 Market St) is assessed at $1.33 million.
- Comparable sales: At the time of leasing, our commercial real estate agent with >40 years experience was unable to identify a reasonable comparable property.
Purchase Option: Fully executed option to acquire the entire property described above for a purchase price of $1.8 million, executable before August 31, 2023. The agreement includes a 50% credit toward the purchase price for all rents paid under the lease.
Benefit: Purchasing this property would secure our hub location for Pierce County for the long term.
- Save $8,000/month rent on current lease
- Secure $950k of tenant improvements (completed and planned)
- Allow program expansion to offer “bridge housing” option to youth and young adults transitioning from street or shelter. Rental residential rates lock out first-time renters. Our clients need an option to rent an affordable place of their own while they build credit and rental history, in a place where they can continue working with a case manager to help them build independent living skills. The 12 apartments provide this space, and provide an income stream to offset programming costs.