Published: Monday, September 21, 2009
New houses coming to Marysville for people with low incomes
A $3.3 million federal grant will allow 19 low-income families to move into new housing in Marysville next year.
The grant, from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is one of three in Washington and 36 nationwide.
Bob Davis, executive director of the Housing Authority of Snohomish County, learned of winning the grant Friday.
The two- and three-bedroom housing units will be built on four lots between Ash and Beach avenues in Marysville, he said.
The property was ready to be developed and had been permitted for construction but “due to the financial crisis, was foreclosed on,” Davis said. “That gave us an opportunity to buy it from the lender.”
Construction is expected to begin in the spring and be completed by the end of next year. The overall cost of the project is $5.8 million.
A family of four could make no more than $40,000 to be eligible to live in the apartments, he said.
“We’d expect that most families who would go into this are low-income, working families who need some help getting their lives together … and will move on,” Davis said.
Because the grant is part of the federal government’s economic stimulus program, it had to be put to use quickly so that people can be put to work constructing the units, Davis said.
The housing authority currently owns and operates 2,000 housing units in the county and provides housing to another 3,000 adults and families through a voucher program, which allows tenants money to seek out their own housing.
Some 5,000 people are currently on the agency’s waiting list for housing, about half of which are seniors or younger disabled adults, he said.
Anyone interested in being added to that list can expect to wait three to five years to get housing, Davis said.
The agency has asked for an additional federal grant of $4.2 million to help it rehabilitate a total of 48 housing units it now has in Monroe and Snohomish, he said.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486, salyer@heraldnet.com.
The grant, from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is one of three in Washington and 36 nationwide.
Bob Davis, executive director of the Housing Authority of Snohomish County, learned of winning the grant Friday.
The two- and three-bedroom housing units will be built on four lots between Ash and Beach avenues in Marysville, he said.
The property was ready to be developed and had been permitted for construction but “due to the financial crisis, was foreclosed on,” Davis said. “That gave us an opportunity to buy it from the lender.”
Construction is expected to begin in the spring and be completed by the end of next year. The overall cost of the project is $5.8 million.
A family of four could make no more than $40,000 to be eligible to live in the apartments, he said.
“We’d expect that most families who would go into this are low-income, working families who need some help getting their lives together … and will move on,” Davis said.
Because the grant is part of the federal government’s economic stimulus program, it had to be put to use quickly so that people can be put to work constructing the units, Davis said.
The housing authority currently owns and operates 2,000 housing units in the county and provides housing to another 3,000 adults and families through a voucher program, which allows tenants money to seek out their own housing.
Some 5,000 people are currently on the agency’s waiting list for housing, about half of which are seniors or younger disabled adults, he said.
Anyone interested in being added to that list can expect to wait three to five years to get housing, Davis said.
The agency has asked for an additional federal grant of $4.2 million to help it rehabilitate a total of 48 housing units it now has in Monroe and Snohomish, he said.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486, salyer@heraldnet.com.
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• Marysville • Real Estate • PovertyLearn more
For more on the Housing Authority of Snohomish County’s programs for seniors, the disabled and low-income families, call 425-290-8499.
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