Acquiring newly constructed buildings, Seattle plans to open 165 affordable housing units this fall

Seattle officials announced $50 million in new local and state investments on Monday to "rapidly create new income- and rent-restricted housing" for those experiencing homelessness in the city.

Using $25 million in city investments matched with funding from the state Department of Commerce's Rapid Capital Housing Acquisition program, the city said that it will acquire 165 units of affordable housing across three newly constructed buildings, all located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Two of the buildings will serve adults, while the third will serve young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. By rapidly acquiring and converting the market-rate apartment buildings into affordable, permanent housing, all three properties are expected to be ready for occupancy by the fall.

"Our homelessness crisis has always been a housing crisis. The city of Seattle continues to make bold investments to address our homelessness crisis as quickly as possible," said Mayor Jenny Durkan in a news release Monday. "With this latest investment, we are building on a completely new approach that has the potential to become a national model for rapidly creating affordable housing."

The two buildings serving adults will be owned and operated by the the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), while the third serving young adults will be owned by LIHI and operated by YouthCare. Former mayoral candidate Colleen Echohawk was chosen earlier this month to lead as the interim CEO of the nonprofit.

In June, the Seattle City Council and Durkan signed a proposal that would allocate $28.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to acquire low-income housing. More announcements of acquisitions are expected in the upcoming weeks as the city leverages funds from the Seattle Rescue Plan.

"The only solution to homelessness is permanent housing," said Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis in a statement Monday. "I know there will be many more announcements like this in the days ahead, as the City fulfills its moral obligation to help all its residents find safe, comfortable, and individually appropriate places to live. Securing these 165 units is an important, concrete step toward finally resolving this crisis."

At a regional level, King County has also been buying properties including former hotels to provide supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness. Introduced by King County Executive Dow Constantine, the "Health Through Housing" initiative aims to create 1,600 housing units by the end of next year. So far, eight properties have been purchased by the county.

"For too long, we’ve let process stand in the way of progress, and with our regional partners across King County we have acted swiftly to purchase the first eight Health Through Housing properties, a substantial step forward in our regional solution to chronic homelessness," Constantine said in July.