Ten tiny houses donated by the City of Olympia now sit on the Olympia Union Gospel Mission's downtown property, tripling Camp Mercy from five units to 15.

The 8-by-12-foot structures were placed on the mission's lot at 413 Franklin Street NE by early June 2026, arranged in a semicircle alongside the original five homes that opened in September 2020.

Moving, repairing, painting, and wiring the 10 new units is expected to cost about $42,000, according to Executive Director Loren "Skip" Steffen. That works out to roughly $4,200 per donated house.

Steffen told The JOLT News the mission had sought a transitional housing facility since the early 2000s. He called Camp Mercy "an unexpected answer to a long-held belief and prayer."

No opening date for the new units has been announced.

Camp Mercy operates as a clean-and-sober program. Residents meet weekly with a counselor, submit to random drug testing, and work toward employment and permanent housing over a stay of roughly nine months.

The original five tiny houses were built by students in the YouthBuild program at New Market Skills Center in Tumwater, funded by the Lacey, Olympia, and Gateway Rotary clubs. Construction halted in March 2020 when the pandemic closed schools, but the mission opened Camp Mercy that September.

Steffen said the mission has no plans to expand beyond 15 units, though he left the door open. "Remembering that we had not planned on having any tiny houses," he said, "we will see what God wants for our future."

The City of Olympia has not disclosed where the 10 houses originated or what program previously used them.