SEATTLE — January 26, 2012 — Seattle Housing Authority will consolidate staff from three separate locations into new offices on lower Queen Anne by the end of March.  Located at 190 Queen Anne Ave N, the new headquarters building will brings together staff from the current Central Office at 120 Sixth Ave N, from the Porchlight building in Ballard,  and from the Operations Support Center in north Seattle.

Administration and admissions functions for the agency's rental housing and for the Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) will be located here. Many resident services, including annual reviews and employment services will also be available.

According to Deputy Executive Director Al Levine, the move will allow housing authority staff to work together more effectively at this single location.

"This allows us to take advantage of favorable leasing rates in the current real estate market," said Levine. "We will save money over the long term by selling our current office buildings and leasing for the next eleven years." The current Central Office building at 120 6th Ave N was sold last summer and the Porchlight office building in Ballard is currently up for sale.

Most staff phone numbers will remain the same throughout and after the move. The mailing address for the new office building will be:

Seattle Housing Authority
190 Queen Anne Ave N
P. O. Box 19028
Seattle, WA  98109-1028

The new offices will be in a five-story building just north of Denny Way on Queen Anne Avenue North. Seattle Housing staff will occupy four out of the five floors, including the ground floor, which will house the admissions office and a large room where public meetings can be held. Seattle Housing's Board of Commissioners will hold its meetings there beginning in March or April.

The new offices are well served by transit from downtown Seattle and from the Fremont/Ballard area. While the building is slightly further from the downtown core than the current headquarters, transit connections serving the new location are plentiful. Current northbound Metro service on First Avenue North connecting the new office with Downtown Seattle include routes 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, and 33. Buses on nearby Denny Way include routes 1, 2, 8, 13, 15, 18, 30, 81. Southbound Metro Lines on Queen Anne Avenue North itself iclude routes 1, 2, 8, 13, 15, 18, 81, and 994.

The move is scheduled to take place over at least three weekends during March. People meeting with housing authority staff during this transition period are advised to check with staff a day or two prior to their meeting to confirm its location.