Cottage housing for homeless women, children planned for Spokane’s Audobon-Downriver neighborhood

Walker Construction , of Spokane, was issued more than $2.2 million in permits this week to begin construction on a transitional housing project for women and children. The development, at 2176 W. Fairview Ave., will have a final price tag of $6.2 million, 24 cottages and a community center in the Audobon-Downriver neighborhood.

The development is being done by Transitions, a nonprofit focused on bringing women and children out of poverty and homelessness. The organization also runs housing for women and children fleeing domestic violence and programs for women dealing with drug abuse.

According to the city permits, the land is owned by Dominican Outreach Services. Transitions first program, Miryam’s House, was started in 1986 in a home owned by the Dominican Sisters, a Catholic organization. In 1995, Catholic nuns from the Dominicans, Sisters of the Holy Names, Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia formed the nonprofit Transitions.

Currently, the organization runs Miryam’s House, New Leaf Bakery Cafe, the Women’s Hearth, EduCare and the Transitional Living Center.

The cottages will be less than 1,000 square feet and be a mix of single-story studios and three-bedroom, two-story houses. The complex will include two playgrounds and a small garden as well as a community building with a laundry. Larger houses will have their own washer and dryer.