No, pickleball is not displacing unhoused people: Seattle RV lot provider

News that a 20-court pickleball facility would be built on the site of a planned RV safe lot in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood has caused a stir. But getting displaced was always part of the safe lot provider's plan — its business model is to convince developers to temporarily let unhoused people use properties as permits are reviewed.

Seattle is a city with pickleball players who are starved for dedicated courts with permanent nets. Players even held a pickleball "funeral" when temporary courts were decommissioned after a recent tournament.

The planned 20-court pickleball facility would give those players lasting space, presumably charging them a usage fee, featuring 10 indoor courts and 10 rooftop courts. It would be sited where a car wash and espresso stand used to operate.

Meanwhile, the number of unhoused people in Seattle remains high, and it’s been a long, difficult process for service providers to find places to site tiny house villages and safe parking lots for people living in RVs.

But there is no conflict between the pickleball development and the safe RV parking lot planned for the same property, according to Jon Grant, chief strategy officer for the Low Income Housing Institute, which would run the RV lot.

“It’s actually part of our business model,” he said. “Many of our tiny house villages, or in this case an RV safe lot, are on temporary locations. Usually, they’re sites that are in their predevelopment stage. And we actually really encourage developers to use that land on an interim basis to serve homeless folks.”

He added that the RV safe lot should open in about six weeks and will relocate when the pickleball project breaks ground. The Low Income Housing Institute’s Salmon Bay Village project will include space for 30 RVs, along with a hygiene trailer and nine tiny homes.

Grant said his organization’s focus will be on getting people into housing, and providing case management and behavioral health support on-site. As residents leave for housing, he said their old RVs will be destroyed, making space for new RVs and ensuring the RVs don't end up back on the street. When people see RVs parked on their corners, he explained, he wants them to think of this project as part of the solution.

Over the project's lifespan, Grant said the site could help around 100 people transition to housing.