According to a King County study in January 2020, over 11,000 individuals are experiencing homelessness in Seattle/King County, Washington, and 21% are working. But with the high cost of housing in Seattle, people earning at or near minimum wage cannot afford market-rate housing. The Sand Point Cottages, developed by the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), will serve working individuals and families exiting homelessness and earning up to 40% of the area median income (AMI). The 22-cottage community will provide affordable housing, case management, and community involvement to support employed homeless individuals and couples to become more financially stable and self-sufficient.
Community Housing Capital (CHC) sponsored LIHI's successful $400,000 AHP application to the FHLBank Atlanta. The AHP award provides a subsidy that eliminated the need for additional sponsor funds in the project. CHC also provided a $300,000 loan to cover upfront predevelopment costs.
Several of the cottage shells (framing, windows, sheathing, and roofing) will be constructed off-site by Pre-Apprenticeship programs and students in Construction Trades Education programs throughout western Washington. Participating programs include the Tulalip TERO Vocational Training Center and Seattle Skills Center students from Rainier Beach High School. Buchanan General Contracting will complete several of the cottages on-site and complete site work, foundation, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical, - all while adhering to prevailing wage requirements. The cottages will be Building and Energy code compliant and meet the Evergreen Sustainability Development Standard (ESDS).
Located on the edge of Seattle's second-largest public park and next door to the University of Washington student housing, the Sand Point Cottages are also convenient to the Windermere neighborhood's services and amenities along with good access to transit and the Burke Gilman Trail. The project will start construction in April 2021 and be completed in January 2022.
LIHI has grown to be one of the most productive affordable housing developers in the Northwest. Their mission is to develop, own, and operate housing to benefit low-income, homeless, and formerly homeless people in Washington state. They advocate for fair housing policies at the local and national levels and administer a range of support service programs to help residents maintain stable housing and establish self-sufficiency. LIHI owns and/or manages over 2,000 housing units at 50 sites in six counties throughout the Puget Sound region, housing over 3,000 low-income people. LIHI emphasizes housing for extremely-low income and homeless populations in its work, as 80% of its housing is affordable at 30% AMI.