(Image: Madkin Tenant Association)
By Elizabeth Turnbull
An E Madison apartment building has become the latest flashpoint in efforts to preserve affordable rents and a push for social housing in the city as residents of The Madkin gathered with advocates outside their homes at 1625 E Madison on Wednesday to protest potential rent hikes that they fear may accompany a sale of the building and to call for support for social housing.
“We’re calling on and urging city leaders to stop this kind of thing that has been happening in the city of Seattle for many years,” Violet Lavatai, the executive director of the Tenants Union of Washington State, said at Wednesday’s press conference. “For-profit owners would come and buy the building, fix it up and then increase the rent, where there is none of the tenants that can afford these rents.”
Backers are hoping to put an initiative on the ballot this fall that would establish a public developer to create more rental housing options in Seattle, powered by public funding, and protected from free market influences, and city and county restrictions.
In the meantime, remaining islands of affordability like the family-owned Madkin are being snapped up.
The Madkin was built in the early 1900s, and boasts an extensive history at the intersection connecting the Capitol Hill and Central District neighborhoods. Today, its 23 units are home to many long-time residents. In the mid 1900’s, the building was bought and named after its new owners, Robert and Esther Madkin, Black leaders in the local civil rights movement.
Before passing away in 2020, Fally Tyson — the building’s recent owner and the third landlord in a string of Black ownership of the building — provided what tenants say were generous accommodations with low rents and a family approach to owning the building.
“When I met Fally Tyson he gave me a job, he gave me comfort and gave me rest. Even my mother worked for Fally too, my brother lived here before I was here,” said Anthony Williams, a long-time resident of the Madkin, for over 45 years. “Fally was always here for me and I loved him for it.”
With Tyson’s passing, residents of the apartment complex are worried about what what will come next now that the building is being sold. As a result, residents formed the Madkin Tenant Association and are calling on local officials to ensure that the building is acquired by a non-profit, to secure affordable rents in the future. But there may not be time though no details of a deal are yet public. King County records don’t show any sign of a sale.
The building was listed at $6.25 million.
“We want the best for Fally’s family, who have chosen to let go of this building,” the MTA residents said in a statement. “We would have loved to have the time and opportunity to secure the building’s future ourselves. But we also want to preserve our family, a trace of old Seattle, the community at The Madkin Apartments.”
For updates and to learn more about how to support residents at The Madkin, follow the MTA group @savethemadkin.
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Many family owned buildings have been sold in recent years and many more are seriously considering it. As the backers of the initiative state they want the building “protected from free market influences, and city and county restrictions”. City and county restrictions are driving mom and pop landlords to sell. Restrictions to maintain good livable conditions are needed but the city and county have gone much further making the risks of owning rental property untenable for anyone but larger corporate entities to operate.
I mean – we all saw this coming right? Why would owners want to be a pricing war race to the bottom
Hmm – so city buys buildings and runs them. Who funds this ? Your property tax bill which is one of the reasons rents endlessly go up. The city just increased everyone’s bill by 15-20%, while the fed increased interest rates on debt to carry these buildings.
I thought we didn’t pay city property tax?
they are rightfully suggesting, everything gets passed on to the consumer one way or another under the guise of rent.
Searching this article for “eviction moratorium” and “city-council sponsored regulations on landlords” returns nothing.
I feel for the people who truly lost income and who needed these protections, but let’s not kid ourselves that there was no cost to the landlords, who still had to pay mortgages, property taxes, and upkeep / repairs on the buildings. That sure makes a sale look more attractive.
The more regulations we enact, the more buildings will be sold to larger developers/landlords, who can spread the cost of compliance across much larger portfolios.
Control F Socialism also failed. Go figure.
Are the tenants asking the city to stop or interfere with the transfer of wealth in a Black family?
I hope not, but that’s how it reads to me.
We are not trying to prevent the family from selling the building or obtaining what they have rightfully inherited – we are trying to prevent the new owners of the building from making changes that would displace decades-long tenants, including Black residents who have called the Madkin home for decades.
The goal of preventing displacement is important and applauded. It seems likely that “preventing new owners from making changes” will diminish the market for the building and decrease the value received by the the sellers (the family). If there’s a strategy to avoid that, it would be great to hear.
There something ironic that the affordable housing organizations are purchasing new buildings like this https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/06/30/lihi-closes-green-lake-apartment-purchase.html instead of preserving current affordable housing and these people homes, leaving it to the private sector to deal with.
Yes, this seems a perfect opportunity for the city to buy an already built apartment building. I don’t think anyone is advocating taking the wealth of the family. This already exists and would be a worthwhile investment for the SHA or even one of the non profits. It seems that the city has made funds available for such a purchase.
Possible problems with this old building are wiring, plumbing, HVAC, lead paint, asbestos, lack of insulation, on and on!!!!