SEATTLE—August 7, 2007—Construction on the second phase of High Point is going strong, and the first units of new rental housing should be ready for occupancy just six months from now. This represents an important landmark toward the completion of the High Point redevelopment.
“The start of rental housing construction means that High Point is moving into its final stage of completion,” says Project Development Coordinator Cynthia Shick.
Bellevue’s Tri-State Construction has completed more than 60 percent of Phase II infrastructure, including sewer, water supply, and stormwater systems along with phone, cable, power and gas lines. Streets are being paved. SW Morgan Street and Sylvan Way SW are expected to be completed and reopened by September.New rental housing, 256 units in all, will be spread across 98 buildings in Phase II. Of these, 150 will be reserved for very low-income families earning less than 30 percent of Area Median Income. The remaining 106 units are designated as affordable workforce housing for residents earning up to 60 percent of AMI.
Phase II will also include 25 Breathe Easy homes, similar to the 30 built in Phase I. These apartments are built especially for families who have asthma or other respiratory difficulties.
Buildings will be similar to those constructed in Phase I, with the addition of one-bedroom stacked flats built on sloping land. The construction of rental housing will be by Absher Construction of Puyallup, which also built the rental units in High Point Phase I.
Work on the first units began August 1 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of January. It is anticipated that all rental housing will be finished and ready for occupancy by March 2009.
More than 400 for-sale homes and condos are also planned as part of Phase II. Along with the construction of new rental and for-sale housing, Phase II will feature four new pocket parks and three larger neighborhood parks.
As with Phase I, many large trees from the original High Point site have been saved. In addition, SW Morgan Street and Sylvan Way SW will be improved, and a stoplight will be installed. By the end of the decade, the redeveloped High Point community will comprise more than 1,600 rentals and homes for sale on 120 acres.
The impact of the redevelopment is already being felt outside the neighborhood. “High Point inspires the imaginations of planners and developers in other towns and cities,” Shick said. “It challenges them to think differently about how they allow development to happen, and shows that it can be done in a way that helps people restore their sense of connectedness to the neighborhood and the community.”