A rendering of the now-complete — and open to residents — Local 422
She had spent months looking for the right place to live. She wanted to be able to walk to her job downtown at an orthodontist’s office, but still be able to afford her rent. Then she found a new building on Summit Ave E, The Local 422 and landed one of the units built under Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program.
“I got really lucky,” said the new resident CHS ran into after a tour of the new project. “It’s the tiniest (income) window you have to hit.”
Under the program, developers must make at least 20% of their units available only to tenants making 80% or less of the average median income for the area. In exchange, the developer is exempt from property taxes. The exemption lasts for up to 12 years, so long as the developer keeps up their end of the deal.
“They’re so popular, we can’t put them on the market, really.”
The exact income level slides depending on the size of the unit, and the number of people in a household. In the case of the longtime landowners who tore down the old 1910-house being used as a triplex to make way for The Local 422, it means a single person renting a studio apartment would need to make between about $32,000 and $40,000 per year, explained Sarah Miller, the Local’s apartment manager.
UPDATE: The building’s management has provided the income ranges required to qualify for the MFTE units:
- Studios – Maximum income for 1 person: $40,820
- Open 1 Bedrooms – Max. income for 1 person: $47,100/Max income for 2 people: $53,775
- Two Bedroom – Max income for one person: $53,380/Max income for 2 people: $60,945
The MFTE studio units rent for $910 per month, and Miller said and they have a hard time keeping up with the flood of people interested in them.
“They’re so popular, we can’t put them on the market, really.”
Of the 48 units in The Local 422, 10 are in the program, but eight are already rented out, Miller said. Overall, 35 of the units were leased as of May 11, with 10 already occupied. Meanwhile, on the next block, a mirror image development stands on Bellevue Ave E. The Local 418 features a near-identical approach as this type of “workforce” housing fills in the blocks below Broadway.
With the deadline pushed back for the taskforce assigned the mission of coming up with a plan to get to Mayor Ed Murray’s goal of 20,000 new affordable units in Seattle, the city has also worked to seal up how MFTE-enabled workforce housing is developed. The program has plenty of critics. But, until decisions are made on linkage fees and bigger swipes at the affordability crisis, the MFTE is one of the few real-world programs creating below-market-rate apartments around the city and on Capitol Hill.
Miller said that when Runberg Architecture Group architects were drawing up the plans, they designated the units they thought might be harder to rent for the program, but they look no different than the market rate units in the building. All of the units have hardwood floors, Caesarstone countertops and stainless steel appliances – no corners were cut on the cheaper units.
The views, which on some of the higher floors give panoramas of Lake Union, Elliott Bay, the Space Needle and Downtown, are the same for everyone. And all of the residents get the same access to a lounge and rooftop deck.
Just by looking at the different units, there is no way to distinguish between units in the program and market-rate units, through CHS’s eyes. The building management had to point out which were which.
The building stands out. Another facet of the tax exemption allowed them to build taller than they otherwise would have, Miller said. As a result, The Local 422 is a seven story building in a land of three- to four-story buildings. The bottom three units are two-floor townhouses, and the seventh floor has loft-style apartments, while the rest of the building is a mix of studio and one- and two-bedroom units.
It also looks newer, of course. There is no brick or wood paneling like the neighbors. A project spokesperson said the intent was to keep in character with the rest of the neighborhood. And modern construction takes different factors into account – all that brickwork in the older buildings doesn’t always hold up as well in earthquakes, she noted.
The building’s interiors were designed by Mitch Kristjanson who kept to a simple color palette for the common spaces. Each floor has its own scheme, with the elevator opening onto a different clock and photo.
The Local 422 is at 422 Summit Ave E.
Just a warning, don’t count on them offering these low-cost units forever. My grandma was in one of these low-income reserved places up at the Joule and once they were established and no longer in need of the tax break to cover initial costs, they jacked the rent up and kicked her out. Not saying it’s definitely going to happen here but it sure has happened elsewhere.
That is what I was wondering – how long the incentive would last.
Its otherwise nice to see units with a mix of floor plans that aren’t all studio and 1 bedrooms.
I do wish units would be built with more modest amenities so the costs could thus be lower. Does everyone need in unit laundry, solid surface counter tops, stainless appliances?
Isn’t Joule less than 5 years old? If the lower rents were offered as part of a developer package, I would hope the units would be required to be offered at reduced rates for at least a decade. Should be more like 30 years.
I agree. But it sounds like the developer can go to all-market rate units whenever he/she wants (but then loses the property tax exemption). If a developer gets the perks under this program (tax exemption, adding additional stories), they should be required to provide the below-market rents for at least 12 years. Otherwise, they are gaming this program.
“The units rent for $910 per month, and Miller said and they have a hard time keeping up with the flood of people interested in them.”
Is this the marked down rent? If so, when it the regular? If this is the regular rent, what is the marked down?
$910 appears to be the marked down rent. Looking online, it’s about $440 less than the starting price for non-qualifying folk.
http://www.buzzbuzzhome.com/the-local-422
The Local 422
By InCity Properties
422 Summit Avenue East Seattle
Rentals from $1,350 To $3,170
MFTE lasts a maximum of 12 years.
The developer only needs the tax break until the project reaches payback, which could be sooner than 12 years.
“A project spokesperson said the intent was to keep in character with the rest of the neighborhood.”
Not sure how this 7-story behemoth maintains the character of our charming Summit Ave East. It stands out like a sore thumb!
The above statement is nothing more than a hollow PR tactic. The true intent was to build as large a building as possible on this single family lot to maximize profits, and to hell with the character of the neighborhood.
What? That surrounding area of Bellevue and Summit has many buildings greater than 7 stories. You can even see them in the background of the rendering shown in this article. The material choice differs but because the buildings immediately adjacent are lower doesn’t mean it’s out of scale.
That’s a fair point, Bellevue does have many large buildings, including some greater than 7 stories.
The perspective of the image above, which shows some of those large Bellevue buildings, is several stories up from street level. As a pedestrian at street level, you don’t see those large Bellevue buildings very prominently, if at all. The effect on the pedestrian, is that this new building dwarfs all others on Summit, except for maybe the Apodment building a few blocks away.
I lived in the building directly next door to this…behemoth. After years in our lovely, affordable unit, we felt we had no choice but to leave – the construction was incredibly disruptive, and the privacy we had (a huge laurel shrub) was torn down by the construction folks (in spite of assurances to the contrary). Now when I go past, it makes me so sad to see this enormous building, so out of place with the rest of the neighborhood.
While I agree that Capitol Hill needs more affordable units, I’m not confident that buildings like this are the solution.
The Oriana is apparently more expensive than this “Beheamoth.” The guy gardening there told me 1 bedrooms go for $1700/mo.
[…] An overhaul of The Summit Inn will include adding a slew of the tiny apartments while another SEDU project is slated to rise at the location of District 3 City Council member Kshama Sawant’s former campaign headquarters. Two new Capitol Hill projects with apartments in the 350-450 square foot range all got off the ground in 2015. Meanwhile, the Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program continued to provide affordable housing, like The Local 422 “below market” project that opened on Summit Ave E. […]
[…] An overhaul of The Summit Inn will include adding a slew of the tiny apartments while another SEDU project is slated to rise at the location of District 3 City Council member Kshama Sawant’s former campaign headquarters. Two new Capitol Hill projects with apartments in the 350-450 square foot range all got off the ground in 2015. Meanwhile, the Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program continued to provide affordable housing, like The Local 422 “below market” project that opened on Summit Ave E. […]