Affordable Housing – the New WA Building Boom?
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March 19, 2008
Seattle, WA – A ribbon-cutting ceremony today at a Seattle condominium complex could signal an upturn in construction of affordable housing around the state. Senator Patty Murray will be on hand to dedicate "Hiawatha Village," where half the units will be sold to low-income, first-time buyers.
The Washington Legislature has just allocated $70 million for the state's "Housing Trust Fund," and builders have already applied for money to help with 44 projects in 14 counties this spring. Amy Clark, communications director for the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance, says that's good news for people caught in the state's housing crunch.
"It really showed that the legislature and the governor understand that when there's economic instability, affordable housing is really the foundation that's going to keep Washington families and communities stable."
She says the investment also means a boost for the construction industry.
"We really do see more development happening because of this funding. That's more jobs for the people working in construction, and for companies that are seeing a downturn because our economy is hitting a slow patch."
In the last few years, Clark says, there have been three times more Housing Trust Fund applications than there was money to build the projects. Builders compete for the money, and not all the projects that are proposed receive funding.
More information about Hiawatha Village is available online, at www.homesightwa.org. The list of Housing Trust Fund applications for the Spring '08 funding round can be viewed at
www.cted.wa.gov/site/935/default.aspx