There’s been rather a lot happening with social housing in Seattle, and everybody appears to have an opinion about it. In a way, that’s an excellent factor. We wish the general public to concentrate to what the Seattle Social Housing Developer — the Public Improvement Authority established in 2023 to construct social housing within the metropolis — is doing. In spite of everything, a majority of the general public voted to ascertain this new company, and so it solely is smart that individuals have a vested curiosity in our work.
Specifically, we’ve acquired quite a lot of media consideration recently as a result of the Seattle Metropolis Council accepted the switch of cash from the 5% extra compensation tax on pay above $1 million, which is paid by corporations and funds us. This mannequin of funding was additionally accepted by the overwhelming majority of voters in a particular election final yr. We’ve acquired much more cash than anticipated from the tax — $130 million, in truth. We’re grateful and properly conscious that with cash comes scrutiny.
We intend to make use of the cash to accumulate our first constructing within the coming months. As Jamie Madden hints in his March 5 op-ed “Social housing isn’t delivering on its promises. But it’s not too late,” the event authority’s shopping for quite than developing housing nonetheless does a world of fine: It’s an assurance that rents there’ll stay completely inexpensive, that the housing will eternally be owned by the general public and renters may have a direct say in how their constructing is run.
Seattle Social Housing Developer interim CEO Tiffani McCoy has employed lawyer and organizer Nikkita Oliver to assist design our resident governance methods, in order that renters can meaningfully take part in social housing. Ultimately, half our board will likely be made up of tenants dwelling in Seattle social housing.
However we now have no intention of stopping there. The developer doesn’t plan to easily “purchase present housing quite than add to Seattle’s housing inventory.” We’re buying properties to start out, and are taking up debt by way of low-interest bonds exactly to create a improvement pipeline. In simply two years, we plan to have constructed dozens of models. In 5 years, we plan to have constructed lots of of models of recent housing, with a deal with family-sized models — two- and three-bedroom flats which are exhausting to return by in Seattle. Tenants will have the ability to keep in place, even when their incomes modifications, with a rising household or as they age. It’ll be as near proudly owning a house as potential, however with out the burden of a down cost on a million-dollar dwelling.
And sure, although we’re not “a jobs program,” we do really feel it’s vital to make use of union labor for development and inexperienced sustainable design that can create a housing provide we are able to all be pleased with. To assist handle these properties, we intend to ascertain a property administration division.
Individuals can and may have opinions about what SSHD ought to have been doing for the final couple of years, however the company survived with a $2 million mortgage from town, which we now have paid again. Solely now do we now have the employees wanted to satisfy our mission. That features Ginger Segel, our chief actual property improvement officer, with near 40 years of housing improvement expertise; James Mayton, director of acquisitions, who spent years on the Seattle Housing Authority; and architect Michael Eliason, director of design and coverage.
We all know there will likely be loads of skepticism about what we’re doing, even from individuals who need us to succeed. Though social housing has been round for greater than a century in places like Vienna, it’s a comparatively new idea for Individuals, lots of whom have been offered on the concept that solely by proudly owning a house can one actually obtain the American dream.
We’re not shopping for that, particularly in a metropolis like Seattle the place greater than half the inhabitants is made up of renters. The Seattle Social Housing Developer gained’t be good, however we will likely be as clear as potential, and, if wanted, appropriate course. That is vital to us, and to the 1000’s of low- and middle-income staff who’re nonetheless struggling to make ends meet.
