Koz at the Dome Apartments

Koz Development has announced the opening of its apartments located at 304 Puyallup Avenue, over by the Tacoma Dome. The new microapartments officially opened in January of 2020. The Tacoma Housing Authority has announced that 64 of the 152 units will be subsidised to students who are currently enrolled or plan to enroll at either UW Tacoma or Tacoma Community College, and are facing housing insecurities.

“Koz is proud to once again participate in this THA program,” said Cathy Reines, CEO and president of Koz. “The feedback received from the students living in our Koz on Market Street project is overwhelming. These individuals are so incredibly grateful to have a safe, comfortable place to live which allows them to focus on their education.” 

In the same press release put out on Feb. 7, the Tacoma Housing Authority stated that the new units will help to alleviate a problem which numerous high school and college students are facing: homelessness, near-homelessness and housing insecurities. The City of Tacoma has itself been having trouble taking on the topic of homelessness. Most recently, the city passed a ban on tents in public spaces, with enforcement of said ban having begun in January after a few months of delays.

“Our main job is to provide or finance affordable housing for Tacoma residents who need help to afford a home,” said Michael Mirra, the Tacoma Housing Authority’s executive director. “We especially seek to do this in a way that also helps them or their children succeed in school and helps Tacoma’s public schools and colleges educate low-income students. This is a very good use of a scarce THA housing dollar. We are very proud to partner for this purpose with Koz Development, CWD Investments, UW Tacoma, Tacoma Community College, Tacoma Public Schools and the Department of Corrections.”

The microapartments —  with studio units as small as 300 square feet and two bedroom units as big as 559 square feet — come included with internet and all utilities, a stove top, microwave, refrigerator and a washer and dryer for the two bedroom units. Facility amenities include a courtyard, a rooftop deck and a laundry room. There are spaces below planned for retail services. There will be no on-site parking.

Specializing in microapartment construction, this is the second Koz Development to be completed within the downtown Tacoma area. Koz on Market, located directly across the street from the University Y, opened in 2019. In a deal between the Tacoma Housing Authority and Koz Development, 52 of the 104 units in Koz on Market were reserved for students facing housing insecurities. Students living in those units who met the qualifications for the housing authority’s program had their a portion of their rent subsidized.

As of right now, Koz Development has a third project in Tacoma which is currently in the feasibility stage. This apartment complex, if built, would be located up on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.