SEATTLE—November 29, 2006—Alder Crest Apartments, 6520 35th Ave. SW in West Seattle, has come back to life this winter as a showpiece for the benefits of redevelopment. Finishing touches are now being applied to the building that is just up the street from High Point. Model units are open for viewing by prospective tenants this week and building managers are signing leases.
Alder Crest has been rehabilitated top to bottom. What was once a run-down eyesore is now a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
Every one of its 36 apartments—24 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units—was gutted and rebuilt. The building has a new roof, new siding, new windows, a new heating system, even a repaved parking lot. All cabinets and appliances are new; every unit has a dishwasher and its own washer and dryer. Mobility access was enhanced with the addition of an elevator and ramps.
Between January 1999 and October 2003, Seattle police were called to the property nearly 140 times for disturbances such as assaults and domestic violence and drug and sex offenses. SHA staff and a community police team officer, concerned about the building’s impact on its nearby High Point residents, met with the property owner to urge him to enforce his residents’ leases and to improve his screening of tenants. After one such meeting, the owner asked if SHA would buy the property. About a year later, after much negotiation, SHA did just that.
The Gates Foundation Sound Families program contributed funding for the Alder Crest’s rehabilitation so that eight units in the building will be set aside for families transitioning from homelessness. Catholic Community Services of King County will provide case-management services for those families.
Funding also came from the City of Seattle and the State of Washington Housing Trust Fund. The Washington State Housing Finance Commission provided low-income housing tax credits.