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Belmont Ave low-income and re-entry project part of $100M in Seattle affordable housing grants

(Image: Pioneer Human Services)

A Belmont Ave project to create a seven-story building with 90 units for a mix of the lowest income tenants and housing for formerly incarcerated and homeless residents will be part of more than $101 million in City Hall funding announced Monday for affordable housing across Seattle.

“Too many long-time residents are getting locked out and pushed out of Seattle. We need to urgently increase the amount of affordable housing to stop the huge displacement of people and provide permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness,” Mayor Jenny Durkan said of the 2017 slate of affordable investments from the Office of Housing. “With this investment, our city is delivering on our commitment to create more affordable housing, including building 900 new homes and keeping 550 homes affordable for the next 50 years.”

The Pioneer Human Services project part of Monday’s grants will develop the new apartment building on two parcels the nonprofit already owns in the 1700 block of Belmont Ave:

Pioneer intends to develop a seven-story building with 90 units (89 studio units and one 1-bedroom manager’s unit) to include approximately 4,000 sf of community space, service personnel offices and building management offices. The project will be financed with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), and some combination of public and private financing. The development will serve a mix of low (60%AMI), very low (50% AMI) and extremely low income (30% AMI) residents. A portion of the project will also provide opportunity for permanent supportive housing to formerly incarcerated and homeless residents. Case management services are also anticipated for these clients.

The project is expected to start construction next year and be open by summer 2020.

In addition to utilizing the first year of funding from the 2016 voter-passed Seattle Housing Levy, the city says the Office of Housing’s 2017 investments include funding from incentive zoning payments, proceeds from the sale of surplus properties, and $29 million in bonds approved by the Seattle City Council.

“Using additional local and federal resources, the city’s awards for rental housing will support more than $260 million in investments,” the City Hall announcement reads. The city says the Office of Housing has invested nearly $450 million “in the creation and preservation of over 14,000 affordable rental homes” in the 36 years it has been funding the grants.

In addition to the Belmont project, two Central District projects — Community House’s Judkins Junction project at 23rd and Jackson and a Yakima Ave Townhomes project — also qualified for City of Seattle support.

The 2017 funding awards will support construction of nine new buildings (896 apartments), two affordable homeownership sites (26 homes), and the preservation of four buildings (535 apartments), the city says.

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