Thompson Springs
Thompson Springs
Sammy’s Place is in a community that is accessible to everyone.
Thompson Springs will be such a place. On a 3-acre lot in Nehalem, OR, Sammy’s Place is building housing using the principles of universal design, that will provide affordable homeownership opportunities for all people. This is Thompson Springs, and Thompson Springs will model affordable homeownership opportunities for people of all abilities and disabilities to live together in community. At Thompson Springs, all properties will be built with the principles of universal design so that all residents can freely visit each other, and so any unit can be resold to any buyer, including anyone with I/DD or any other disability.
An overview of the Housing Crisis for people with disabilities. By Allen Hines, April 2024
Access-Denied-Community-Vision 2024
Thompson Springs History
At Sammy’s Place (SP) we are excited to be working to find solutions for real concerns within our community on the North Coast of Oregon which include creating opportunities in the community while including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and building universally designed housing for everyone. In 2018/19 we acquired three acres in Nehalem, Oregon, and held a vision where everyone could own a home alongside one another and enjoy the splendor of nature the North Coast of Oregon brings for so many. We are happy to step into this new paradigm where neighborhood means everything and isolation is a thing of the past. We have also witnessed the power of a vision of an inclusive dream that embraces integrity, patience, and devoted team members.
Thank you
Thank you, to our partners, supporters, and community, for your support and bravery to discover with us what innovative thinking will bring our community on this journey. Special thanks to Tillamook County, the City of Nehalem, the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PBS Engineering & Environmental, Stoppiello Architecture, the Sammy’s Place Housing Committee, and Community Vision Inc. for a solid partnership, and we look forward to more budding collaborations as they evolve.
Next up…
The three acres, now known as Thompson Springs LLC, are cleaned and work progresses on bringing the vision to reality. The SP Housing Committee meets regularly and has recently received grant awards from the Kuni Foundation and Oregon Home and Community Services to hire a Development Consultant to take the preliminary site vision through the next steps. We still focus on using this project as a whiteboard to discuss universal design/access and what that means to different people. We also continue to use nature and its model of a delicate balance between health, diversity, and interconnectedness, to thrive.
The vision is small ownership units for anyone and intentionally including those with I/DD. The desire is owner/neighbor communal space indoors and out which encourages ‘community’ – common-unity, to help end isolation. Outdoor spaces encourage a bond with nature which needs for our attention on its own health, and homeownership, something many never have a shot at, especially when from an underrepresented minority. We believe in giving everyone a chance at the dream and to think big! We know it is out of the box and cost is always a part of the equation, but we have enough good support that recognizes we’ve perhaps had blinders on and there is more to see and include.
We cannot thank everyone enough for all the support and good-hearted people that see this as something different and new, and something that is desperately needed.
Thank you.
Please contact us with questions or to help out.
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A giant thank you to the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency for the extensive support, vision, and cleanup. Without them and the good people who understand the need for partnerships throughout a project, this work could not move forward. See more here.
