Africatown Plaza (Image: David Baker Architects)
A program hoped to help slow and reverse displacement in Seattle has announced its latest roster of funding including $1 million to help open the Africatown Plaza affordable development in the Central District.
According to the announcement, Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative is funding more than $22 million across 42 projects as part of the city’s effort to support property ownership in neighborhoods at high risk of displacement.
“Our city is steadfast in its commitment to delivering real results for communities disproportionately impacted by displacement,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in the announcement. “With our largest investment in Equitable Development Initiative projects to date, we are taking meaningful steps to expand opportunities in our most marginalized communities and build a future where every Seattle resident can thrive.
CHS reported here on the opening late last year of Africatown Plaza, a new $66.5 million 126-unit affordable apartment building on the 23rd and Union Midtown block, opened to residents after two years of construction that included what its developers said was an unprecedented number of Black families who worked on the project.
Not all of the EDI grants are directly tied to housing. Examples include $365,000 supporting a project from Black Star Farmers to complete its Dakota Place project, a farming effort it has grown since the removal of the Black Lives Memorial Garden from Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park.
The EDI is administered by the Office of Planning and Community Development and was created in 2016 “to respond to the needs of marginalized communities, reduce disparities, and support organizational capacity building, property acquisition, and capital expenses.”
The Seattle City Council backed off a plan last year that would have added additional reporting requirements for participation in the program.
Revenue to fund the initiative comes from the city’s crucial Jumpstart Payroll Expense Tax on its largest employers.
The full EDI funding roster provided by the city is below:
The following community-based organizations were selected to receive funding to support capital projects:
Hip Hop is Green – $557,000 to support completion of the Cherry Street Farm and Lab.
Urban Black – $650,000 to support completion of the Legacy Program Project.
Cultural Space Agency – Columbia City – $1,000,000 to complete ADA renovations for the Columbia City Theater.
Kwanza Preparatory Academy – $850,000 for the Tayari Learning Center to complete renovations for culturally relevant childcare space in Rainier Beach.
Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network – $1,100,000 to complete the House of Constance to provide housing and support to queer and trans BIPOC.
Africatown Community Land Trust – $1,000,000 to complete the Africatown Plaza – Midtown Commercial project.
Interim Community Development Association – $1,525,000 to complete Bush Gardens/Uncle Bob’s Place.
Cultural Space Agency/ Cultivate South Park – $1,547,000 to complete the El Barrio cultural space in South Park.
Southeast Effective Development (SEED) on behalf of Hillman City Partners – $1,750,000 to complete the Hillman City Hub.
Cham Refugees Community – $1,700,000 to complete the Cham Community Center.
Rainier Beach Action Coalition – $300,000 to complete the Food Innovation Center.
Black Star Farmers – $365,000 to complete the Dakota Place project.
South Seattle Women’s Health Foundation/ Rainier Valley Midwives – $510,000 to support completion of the Rainier Valley Birth and Health Center.
ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop – $400,000 to support pre-development of the African Cultural Arts Center (ACAC).
Tubman Center for Health & Freedom – $945,000 to begin construction on the Tubman Center for Health & Freedom.
Somali Health Board – $1,000,000 to advance construction of the Somali Community Cultural Innovation Hub.
African Community Housing & Development – $500,000 to advance development of on the Seattle International Public Market.
Lake City Collective – $1,000,000 to begin construction on the Willowbrook Multicultural Center.
Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition – $1,170,000 to activate the South Park Multipurpose Community Space.
Central Area Youth Association – $375,000 to support pre-development for their mixed-use affordable homeownership development.
Estelita’s Library – $1,500,000 to support Estelita’s Solidarity House.
Muslim Housing Services – $51,000 to support future acquisition of a ground floor condo in the Flourish on Ranier Bellwether Housing Affordable Housing development.
The following community-based organizations were selected to receive funding to support capacity building:
ARTE NOIR – $35,000 in capacity-building support for the ARTE NOIR Recording Studio and Maker Space.
International Community Health Services (AiPace) – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the Ron Chew Healthy Aging and Wellness Center.
New Hope Community Development Institute (NHCDI) – $150,000 in capacity-building support for New Hope Family Housing community-serving space.
Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the Community Center Expansion Project.
Wing Luke Memorial Foundation – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the Eng Family Homestead.
Africatown Community Land Trust – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the William Grose Center.
Essential Community Housing Organization (ECHO) Co Lam Pagoda Lotus Village cultural space and affordable housing – $150,000
Multicultural Community Coalition – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the Hillman City Project.
Wa Na Wari – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the cultural preservation, arts, and artist in residence space.
LEMS Cultural Center & Bookstore for Life Enrichment – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the preservation of LEMS.
Fathers and Sons Together – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the Next Generation Level Up resource and outreach center for youth and young adults.
Khmer Community Seattle King County – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the Khmer Community Center.
Friends of Little Saigon – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the Little Saigon Landmark Project.
House of Mkeka SPC – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the collective living tiny cottage project.
Na’ah Illahee Fund – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the E’lip Tilikum Intertribal Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) Center.
Nurturing Roots – $75,000 in capacity-building support for Nurturing Roots Farm/Black Power Epicenter Project
Seattle Indian Services Commission – $75,000 in capacity-building support for the Native Village & Gateway Project.
BIPOC STAHC – $150,000 in capacity-building support for creation of the Sustainable Tiny Art House Community project.
Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the Biofuel System Project.
Urban Family Center Association – $150,000 in capacity-building support for the Urban Family Youth and Family Hub.
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I think it’s likely that the exodus of Black people from the CD is, in large part, due to older homeowners cashing in on the equity that they have as a result of having bought their homes many years ago. Nothing wrong with that, but it does have a significant effect on the demographics of the district.
The data says otherwise…
“In 2019, Seattle was named the third most gentrifying U.S. city. Today, only 25 percent of Black residents own homes—the lowest of any racial or ethnic group in the Seattle and King County area. This drops nearly 50 percent from the number of Black families that owned homes in the 1970s and is approximately 33.3 percent below the U.S. rate. Additionally, Black residents have the second lowest median household income at $39,396 and the highest percentage of households with zero net worth at 33.1 percent. The successful gentrification efforts widespread across the city are the result—in part—of declining Black homeownership and equity accumulation over recent years, all of which derive from redlining and discrimination practices exacerbated by corporatocracy. However, despite the compelling statistics and research on housing displacement alongside the adverse impact corporate action and corporate law has had on Black communities in the Seattle area, corporate actors persist in their capture efforts.”
https://systemicjustice.org/article/redlining-and-disinvestment-a-case-study-on-racial-segregation-and-gentrification-throughout-seattles-central-district/
I’m not sure how that discredits zach’s hypothesis? What was the Black homeownership rate in 2010 or 2000? That trend would tell us whether cashing out is a major reason or not.
Later in that article they show exactly what zach proposed:
“Today, only 25 percent of Black residents own homes—the lowest of any racial or ethnic group in the Seattle and King County area. This drops nearly 50 percent from the number of Black families that owned homes in the 1970s and is approximately 33.3 percent below the U.S. rate.”
This tells us that many Black families that did own have decided to cash out, leaving the percentage that rent higher and higher.
It later goes on to say that a third of those homes have zero net worth, so not so much cashing out or wealth building. Zach is trying to sell it as a capitalist success story of pulling one up by their bootstraps and market economics, rather than systemic efforts by banks and others as the data shows. Do some end up cashing out, sure, but in 1 in every 3 is under water that tells me something is wrong and not really working for the community.
Property taxes shook them too
Seattle voters have decided time and time again to raise property taxes in order to pay for pretty much everything we need in this city.
Rising rents and people being displaced are some of the unintended consequences.