Sound Transit approves affordable housing near light rail

The Sound Transit Board unanimously approved a purchase and development agreement with Gerding Edlen during its July 28 general meeting, allow Capitol Hill Housing to begin constructing its 100-percent affordable housing complex on the north end of the Capitol Hill light rail station in 2018, once funding is in place.

The $2.65 million property purchase for the Site-B North section of the transit-oriented development area around the light rail station will be performed by Gerding Edlen, which plans to assign its right to purchase to Capitol Hill Housing. An affordable housing public corporation, Capitol Hill Housing will apply for city funding through Seattle’s 2016 Notice of Funding Availability round. Funding availability applications are due Sept. 13, with awards being announced in December.

“This is a long time coming,” said Sarah Lovell, transit-oriented development planning manager for Sound Transit, during Thursday’s meeting, “and we’ve talked to you about this project for many years, so it’s a very big deal.”

According to the motion for the purchase and sale agreement Sound Transit Board approved Thursday, if Capitol Hill Housing does not receive this funding, it can reapply in 2017, but the purchase price will go up to $2.75 million [4 percent] for the 15,878-gross-square-foot parcel. Capitol Hill Housing is also seeking Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Assuming funding is in place, closing of the sale is expected in spring 2018 and construction completion by fall 2019.

Lovell said about $184,000 from the cost of the sale is recommended to be held for remediation, as contamination around the site had been found.

The city of Seattle began its Urban Design Framework process for the Capitol Hill Station block in 2010, seeking affordable housing, green construction, a community center, family-sized housing, permanent space for the Broadway Farmers Market and space for small retailers. The city and Sound Transit signed a development agreement in 2013, with the transit agency issuing a Request for Proposals in June 2014.

Gerding Edlen Development was the highest scored proposal out of four, and negotiations were initiated in April 2015 for a purchase and sale of Site B-North, with Gerding Edlen Development directed to work with a nonprofit developer.

Capitol Hill Housing is required to develop 82-86 apartment units for individuals and families making at or below 60 percent of the area median income, but plans to construct 90-plus units, with studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom layouts. A breakdown of how many of those units could be at 30-60 percent is dependent on financing from Seattle’s Office of Housing, the motion states. The building is required to meet LEED Platinum standards, and no parking is planned for the complex.

If Gerding Edlen ever wanted to put a garage there later, Gerding Edlen Development and Capitol Hill Housing have the option of splitting B-North into two condominium units, the agreement states, with Gerding Edlen assuming the below-ground portion.

 “We are thrilled that this agreement is on the threshold of being approved to enable the development to move forward and realize the goals of the community,” according to a Capitol Hill Housing email sent to the Capitol Hill Times Wednesday. “With rents on the rise, housing that’s affordable to everyday people in the heart of Capitol Hill and located right next to transit will be a great benefit to the whole neighborhood. Gerding Edlen have been great, community-oriented partners, and we look forward to working with them to move this project along.”

Assisting with the public outreach during the community process has been the Capitol Hill Champion, an organization created by the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Capitol Hill Community Council in 2010, to advocate for the neighborhood’s desires for the development.

“The Capitol Hill community has repeatedly and strongly voiced its support for affordable housing in our rapidly growing and changing neighborhood,” said Brie Gyncild with Capitol Hill Champion in her comments in support of the purchase and development agreement. 

The Sound Transit Board is slated to vote on a sale and development agreement for the three other market-rate sites around the Capitol Hill Station in August. Including all four sites, Lovell told the board 37 percent of the units will be affordable for at least 12 years, as Gerding Edlen Development will be using the multifamily tax exemption program for 21 percent of the units in the other three parcels. A third of those will be family-sized.