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4PA outlines Touchstone transitional campus plans, seeks $900K more to finish
Summary
Founder Joe Discala presented the privately funded Touchstone campus plan — 11 tiny homes and common facilities — saying the project is about 35–40% complete, with a $1.3 million total price tag and a likely finish date of 2027 if fundraising continues.
Joe Discala, founder of 4PA, told the Clallam County Homelessness Task Force that his Touchstone campus project in Port Angeles is intended to provide transitional, scaffolded housing for people moving from unsheltered living to greater stability.
Discala said 4PA purchased roughly one acre at 230 East 1st Street and is renovating existing buildings while constructing an 11‑unit tiny‑home village. Two units are occupied and three are complete; construction on additional units is underway. The organization has privately funded most work and received a one‑time city reimbursement for an electrical transformer. Discala estimated the overall cost at about $1.3 million (approximately $1.1 million in hard building costs) and reported about $400,000 spent so far, describing the project as roughly 35–40% complete.
Discala said the tiny homes and site were engineered to meet city code and were signed off by an engineer; the tiny homes were designed by a local firm (1 23 West, Kyle Zimmerman) and built specifically for the campus. He said the city will not allow increased occupancy until adequate common facilities (bathrooms, showers and a functional kitchen) are completed. He described an operational model that includes individualized case management through an MOU with OPCC, drug testing and a target stay of 18 months (graduation after roughly two years with a final six‑month ‘giving back’ period).
On timeline and funding, Discala told the task force he had hoped to finish sooner but that permitting, renovating an older common building and fundraising constraints slowed progress; he said the remaining schedule now points toward an August 2027 completion if fundraising continues at the current pace. He said 4PA prefers private foundation grants and local donor pledges over large government grants because prevailing‑wage rules tied to public funding would make local contracting cost‑prohibitive and force them to open bidding beyond the local contractors they want to hire.
Discala invited other agencies and task force members to view the site and asked for community support; he said the campus is intended as one piece of a broader system of housing and services, not a complete solution for all people who are homeless. The presentation generated questions about county versus city code compatibility, accessibility and whether families or children will be accepted (Discala said the campus is coed but not prepared to serve children at this time).
