Chopp (Image: King County)

The program to create new supportive housing buildings throughout King County will be named to honor a state legislator who fought for “home, health, and hope” for three decades in Olympia.

Tuesday, the King County Council approved renaming its Health through Housing initiative to honor Frank Chopp.

Chopp died in March after helping lead the 43rd District including Capitol Hill from 1995 to 2025. Remembered for his help funding the development of affordable buildings across the region, Chopp was considered a housing champion.

Calling Chopp “a strong advocate for the basic human right to safe, stable, and affordable housing,” the council voted Tuesday to rename the program passed in 2021 which aims to house up to 1,600 people experiencing chronic homelessness by using hundreds of millions of dollars raised from a sales tax on properties in Seattle and five nearby cities.

To try to speed the process, the program focused on acquiring existing hotels and apartment buildings.

Today, the Frank Chop Health through Housing program includes the newly opened Sharyn Grayson House on Capitol Hill.

Powered by the 0.1% bump in county sales tax and $6 million diverted from King County Jail funding, the Health Through Housing initiative purchased the mostly completed Capitol Hill apartment building for $11.6 million in 2023. Nearly $4 million in investments followed.

Several additional construction and repurposing efforts are underway. You can learn more at kingcounty.gov.

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