(Image: City of Seattle)

The Harrell administration is calling it the “largest single-year funding commitment to affordable housing in the city’s history” as the Seattle Office of Housing’s 2025 Notice of Funding Availability includes $170 million for the development, preservation, and stabilization of rental housing in the city.

“An affordable home provides stability, security, and the foundation to grow and thrive,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in the press release announcing the opening of the 2025 funding window. “This investment will create additional affordable homes and maintain existing ones, with a focus on providing housing for families with very low incomes and for people exiting shelter into permanent housing.”

For the first time, the city’s NOFA is including opportunities for “stabilization.”

“Production funding creates new, long-term affordable homes. Preservation funding keeps existing properties well-maintained and accessible, and stabilization funding helps financially challenged properties continue serving their communities,” the city says.

The City’s Office of Housing will evaluate candidate projects with “available data, community input, and market conditions” to set funding priorities for NOFA applications.

The city says its priorities this year focus on affordable housing for formerly homeless individuals and households with incomes at or below 30% of the area median income (AMI), “with an emphasis on housing intended for families.”

“These types of homes are less available in the market and often require public funding to meet the demand,” the announcement reads.

NOFA projects must meet certain criteria outlined in the published requirements (PDF).

Factors include community value including how effectively the project advances racial equity and “improves housing outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. Given the legacy and continued impact of institutional racism, proposals should clearly describe how the project will increase housing access, choice, and stability for Black, Indigenous, People of Color households and other marginalized communities.”

Applying developers must also demonstrate commitment to anti-displacement strategies “that respond to neighborhood conditions and community needs.”

Projects should also include nonresidential uses that are “thoughtfully integrated into the project to support neighborhood stability and meet community-identified needs,” the city says.

“Projects should show how site uses contribute to local economic health, provide access to essential services, or enhance opportunities for community gathering, cultural expression, or local business development,” housing officials say. “Partnerships with community-based organizations and/or small businesses are important to highlight.”

While much market rate development is stuck in an ongoing limbo of challenging market conditions and high interest rates, projects focused on affordable housing — or retooled to address the need — can move forward with support from funding like the NOFA pool. Seattle’s design review process has also been reformed to ease affordable housing development.

While Mayor Harrell’s office is touting the $170 million milestone, his opponent in the 2025 election says the incumbent is not doing enough to address the city’s affordability crisis. Wilson says she would be stronger in her support of Seattle’s Social Housing

Affordable housing developers have until September 18th to apply for the funding pool. Learn more at seattle.gov.

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