SPOKANE, Wash. — It took nearly a year and a half to bring the homeless encampment in the east central neighborhood to a close.
In June 2023 the final camper moved off the state-owned land, marking a significant milestone in the Camp Hope-saga.
It's been officially 30 days without anyone living at the former site.
Looking at the land Monday, it's hard to picture over 600 people once living there.
"It's a vacant lot," Ryan Overton with WSDOT communications said. "It's kind of surreal. I think there was a point, late summer last year, where it was 600+ people."
The camp may be gone, but people living in the East Central neighborhood haven't forgotten the life that came with their unwanted neighbors.
"Some people would ask about fentanyl," Alexis Petitto recounted. "One time last summer, there was someone who walked into our house and my boyfriend was like 'who is that?' and I was like 'I don't, I don't know.'"
Petitto lived down the street from the encampment. She said she's noticed a considerable change in the neighborhood since the camp's closure.
"Since it's been gone, it’s been a lot better,” Petitto said. "Honestly, a lot better."
But, Camp Hope's story isn't over.
The tents and RVs may be gone, but the camp's history may still live in the soil.
Overton said the next step in restoration is hiring a contractor to test the soil.
"We have a couple of contractors we’re working with, getting bids, determining what that testing looks like, how many samples we’re going to take and what remediation of the soil will look like following that test," Overton said.
Overton said the top layer of soil will likely be removed due to contamination, but a final determination of what treatment is needed will be made after the soil is tested.
Overton said WSDOT has spent over $1,000,000 on building fencing, hiring security and maintaining the site.
With a contractor yet to be hired and soil samples yet to be collected, Overton is anticipating the state agency will need to continue to dig in its pockets to properly close this chapter of the site's history.
Still, Overton is optimistic about the future, especially with the role the plot of land will play in Spokane's connectivity.
"Roughly in that area is where the northbound on ramp to the North Spokane Corridor from westbound I-90 will be,” Overton said.
He said there's no defined timeline for when work will begin on the site.
Until then, he said people will continue to see 24/7 security monitoring, in order to prevent people moving back onto the land.
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