St. Vincent de Paul Bremerton says it has raised $16,668,291 toward a $19.5 million fundraising goal for its Star of Hope Campaign, a project the nonprofit describes as a two-phase effort to expand emergency shelter, transitional housing and permanent affordable housing in Kitsap County. The campaign would reshape the organization’s West Bremerton headquarters block, adding beds and apartments to a community that has struggled to keep pace with housing demand.
The nonprofit describes Star of Hope as a plan that will bring needed shelter, transitional and permanent housing to the community, according to St. Vincent de Paul Bremerton. The first phase includes expanding the Stella Maris emergency shelter for women and children from its current 30 beds to 47, along with construction of 38 housing units: 28 permanent supportive units and 10 transitional units. A second phase, in collaboration with the Bremerton Housing Authority, is planned to add a 72-unit affordable housing project.
What the Expanded Campus Would Include
Architecture firm RF March, which worked on the project, describes the planned housing structure as Stella Praespero — a four-story building that would provide 38 units of supportive and transitional housing. The same project page describes the shelter expansion as adding 17 much-needed beds for women and children experiencing crisis, and says the building would include a large community gathering space, outdoor play areas for children, and convenient access to downtown services and transit, per RF March.
The campus is also planned to include a food pantry, case management and on-site support services, the firm’s project description notes. St. Vincent de Paul’s own campaign materials add that the plan includes upgrading the existing Neighborhood Market and Resource Center, which already provides food access and connects visitors with services.
Conflicting Figures on Cost and Unit Count
The scope and price tag of the project are described differently across the nonprofit’s own materials. St. Vincent de Paul’s campaign page lists a $19.5 million fundraising goal, while a separate fundraising page on Givebutter describes a proposed $115 million project. That same Givebutter page says the proposed project includes 140 housing units, a figure that does not line up neatly with the 38 phase-one units—28 permanent supportive and 10 transitional—and 72 affordable units in phase two described separately on the nonprofit’s own Star of Hope page. The available materials do not explain how these figures relate to one another…