[2] Founded in 1909, the Yakima YWCA originally rented the second floor of Sawbridge's Hardware Store and used the gym from the First Baptist Church.

The building opened the next year and offered job placement, a gym, a library, temporary housing, and inexpensive meals to young women.

[3] After the YWCA vacated the building, it became the "Chateau Yakima", where the former common areas are rented for events while other sections are used as a coworking space.

In 2023, the YWCA obtained the St. Elizabeth's School of Nursing building at the former Astria Regional Medical Center, and began converting it into a women's shelter.

Local board president Mary Remy sketched out the plans for the building and its multiple functions which architect John W. Maloney formalized into the final design.