Eastside Makes Strides in Affordable Housing
Eastside cities are taking incremental but impactful steps to incentivize construction of more affordable housing. Bellevue, for one, has announced that it will waive or reduce fees for permit reviews and inspections for affordable housing developments, which could create noticeable savings for developers already facing a tight budget.
In 2023, the Bellevue City Council adopted an ordinance to create an affordable housing permit review and inspection fee reduction program. This step furthers the city’s efforts to make it easier for developers to undertake these projects. To qualify, all housing units in the development must be affordable for those earning at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI).
This is a small, but positive step for nonprofit housing developers, and one of several moves the council has made to stimulate housing production.
The Eastside has also recently seen the addition of a 125-unit housing development that was the first newly constructed, affordable housing community to receive Amazon Housing Equity Fund funding in King County. Grata at Totem Lake in Kirkland received a $12.5 million low-rate loan from the HEF, which launched in 2021. Made possible by this and additional funding, the energy-efficient project offers units ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments and is tailored to residents earning less than 60% of the country’s AMI. Eighty-eight of the homes are reserved for residents earning less than 50% AMI.
A Regional Coalition for Housing recommended a $4 million investment from the 2023 Housing Trust Fund to support five Eastside affordable-housing projects. Member cities contribute to the Housing Trust Fund, with $1.4 million from Bellevue. Redmond will invest an additional $2.1 million for two of the projects. Under the recommendation, Bellevue’s Housing Stability Program would invest $15 million in three more projects aimed at providing housing and housing services to underserved populations that earn less than 60% of the AMI.
Recently, King Councilmember Girmay Zahilay announced a proposal that could secure at least $1 billion in funding for low-cost housing. If the proposal passes, it would require King County to study feasibility and develop a plan to use excess debt capacity (around $9 billion) to pay for workforce-rate rental housing. This could provide the Eastside with more monies to develop workforce housing so that essential workers can afford to live closer to the communities they serve.
SOURCE: Puget Sound Business Journal, 425 Business and King 5.
