Downtown Seattle's largest family shelter to begin welcoming residents in March

With over 63,000 sq. ft. of usable space to sleep 275 moms, dads, and children each night, Mary’s Place Family Center is set to be the largest family shelter in Washington State, welcoming in their first families on Monday, March 9.

The center is located in The Regrade, within an office building at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.

The large tech company has been known to make generous donations to Mary’s Place and FareStart, a collective value of more than $130 million, with Mary’s Place alone receiving $100 million in in-kind and cash donations over the next 10 years. Last June, the company also launched an employee match campaign to encourage employees to donate to 20 select nonprofits.

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Amazon’s plan for Mary’s Place includes covering all of their rent and utility costs for the next ten years, as well as housing those in need in the center of their Downtown Seattle campus.

“Every inch of this space was intentionally designed with thoughtful collaboration between our partners at Amazon, GLY, Seneca, and Graphite, to best support the mission of Mary’s Place, and to get us closer to our goal of no child sleeping outside,” explained Mary’s Place Executive Director Marty Hartman, in a blog post. “This building is equal parts durable, flexible, warm, and welcoming, to ensure that families know that here, they will be respected, they are safe, and they are loved.”

The eight-floored shelter includes four floors designated for sleeping, as well as 30 Popsicle Place rooms for families with “medically fragile children.”

The additional four floors are being used for an industrial kitchen, a children’s play area, and space for professional services such as legal support, resume review workshops, and more.

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“This shelter will keep people safe, provide them with nutritious meals, easy access to transit, and allow them to really rest — many of the most important factors to helping families in their transformation. It also helps to have the overwhelming support of the community and feeling of hope. We’re so excited to see the construction come to life and we can’t wait to move in,” said Hartman.