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Holly Park replacement housing completed
871 low-income units replaced in Seattle's
inventory
SEATTLE—May 23, 2007—Replacing more than 800 units of
low-income housing in Seattle is no easy task, but Seattle Housing
fulfilled its promise this month by doing exactly that, as part of
the revitalization of the former Holly Park housing project.
As of the beginning of May, all of the 871 low-income housing units
originally located at Holly Park have been replaced and made
available at NewHolly and throughout the city to individuals and
families earning below 30 percent of area median income.
Relocation of the original Holly Park residents affected by
redevelopment was completed back in April 2002. It was not necessary
for all of the new units to be completed in order to provide housing
for the original Holly Park tenants who needed it.
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the replacement process was achieved last month with the completion
of three new buildings—the Stone Way Apartments in Wallingford,
Broadway Crossing on Capitol Hill, and One Community Commons in West
Seattle—and the opening of their doors to eligible low-income
residents. The Stone Way Apartments feature 35 units available as
replacement housing, including eight one-bedroom apartments, 17
two-bedroom units, and 10 three-bedroom residences. Ten two-bedroom
Broadway Crossing units are available, along with seven two-bedroom
apartments at One Community Commons. |
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The Stone Way Apartments |
The other 819 units of replacement housing—including 400 on the
original Holly Park site, now redeveloped as NewHolly—are sited
amongst 31 locations in a diverse range of neighborhoods across
Seattle.
The replacement housing process for Holly Park reflects Seattle
Housing’s commitment to maintaining an equal or greater number of
housing units for low-income residents before and after its HOPE
VI-funded redevelopment projects. “Meeting our replacement housing
obligations is our highest priority,” explains Al Levine, Seattle
Housing’s deputy executive director of development. “Seattle Housing
is unique among housing authorities in the HOPE VI program in
committing to one-for-one replacement housing for every unit. We
take this commitment very seriously.”
Although revitalization may result in fewer low-income households in
a specific community, Seattle Housing maintains or expands the
overall number of units available throughout the city to people
making less than 30 percent of area median income. These units are
required to be specific, identifiable housing—Section 8 Housing
Choice Vouchers that can be used in the private sector do not meet
this requirement—and must be guaranteed to be available to extremely
low-income tenants well into the future, generally no less than 40
years.
The nature of these replacement housing units can vary from the
typical perception of public housing. Instead of being owned and
operated by Seattle Housing, units may be under the management of
non-profit housing groups subsidized by Seattle Housing. Such is the
case with each of the three buildings opened this past month. The
Stone Way Apartments are owned by Housing Resources Group, while
Capitol Hill Housing owns Broadway Crossing. The Delridge
Neighborhood Development Association manages the One Community
Commons complex.
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