EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council is set to approve using $13 million in sales tax money for affordable housing projects next week.
In 2021, the council passed a 0.1% sales tax meant to pay for new housing and behavioral health projects. The county also receives what is essentially a sales tax credit from the state, which also goes into the Affordable Housing and Behavioral Health Capital fund.
Those two sources are behind the four projects up for discussion on Oct. 23. They will add 166 new units while preserving 111 affordable units, though that number is subject to change through the development process, a county spokesperson wrote in an email.
“This funding source is really a game changer for affordable housing in Snohomish County,” said Kat Opina, a senior director with Housing Hope. “We have been really waiting and with bated breath for this funding source to be released, and it’s absolutely crucial.”
The four projects are:
• Housing Hope’s Everett United Church of Christ ($6,211,487);
• The Stillaguamish II Apartments in Arlington ($3,250,000);
• A redevelopment on 200th Street SW in Lynnwood ($2,180,000); and
• The Monte Cristo Apartments in Everett ($1,358,513).
The Housing Hope project looks to build a seven-story “senior-focused development” at 2624 Rockefeller Ave., according to county documents. It’s expected to add 66 units of housing. The project will take about 15 months to construct and is expected to be completed in 2027.
In total, the development is projected to cost about $39 million, Opina said. The nonprofit bought the land from the Everett United Church of Christ in July.
“The church was really passionate about having this opportunity for their church and land to go to an affordable housing developer,” Opina said. “So when they knew that they wanted to relocate, they reached out to Housing Hope and we partnered together to get the land at an affordable price and for them to have a good way for them to walk away.”
A similar project in Edmonds is set for tenants to move in imminently. Housing Hope bought a property from Edmonds Lutheran Church and built a $30 million, 52-unit affordable housing development.
The Stillaguamish II project at 18324 Smokey Point Blvd. is being spearheaded by Integra Property Group, a Seattle company. The money will go toward helping the company buy the property, a three-story building with 42 apartments.
The move will allow the building to be preserved “as housing for seniors and/or low-income persons with disabilities,” according to county documents.
“This property is an expiring rural development project that is at risk of becoming market rate and would then be unaffordable for its current residents,” documents state.
The Housing Authority of Snohomish County is taking the lead on the 200th Street SW project in Lynnwood. The organization already owns the former Timberglen and Pinewood Apartments there. Those buildings, which have 57 existing units, will be torn down.
Replacing them will be two new buildings with a combined 100 units of housing, a county document states.
The Monte Cristo project at 1507 Wall St., will put money toward improvements at an affordable apartment complex in Everett. This will include structural support, roofing, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington is running the project. The organization acquired the building in 2006. It has 69 low-income apartments, including a dozen for people exiting homelessness.
Snohomish County will also be considering a separate, though related motion. Using the same sales tax money, the council will likely designate $3 million for mental health treatment. By state law, up to 40% of the sales tax can go toward mental health, though Snohomish County designated just 9% in its investment plan released last year for using the sales tax income.
“My hope is to see a greater share of this funding go toward behavioral health in the future,” County Council member Nate Nehring wrote in an email Tuesday. “One project I’m working on is an effort to braid potential state and county funding to establish a Secure Withdrawal Management & Stabilization (SWMS) facility which would add treatment beds in Snohomish County.”
Compass Health could see over $2.5 million toward its phased redevelopment plan of the Broadway campus. The sales tax money would go toward demolishing the existing behavioral health building. A new, four-story, 72,400-square-foot building will take its place.
Sea Mar Community Health Centers in Monroe could also see slightly under $500,000 for renovation of a building that services those with mental health and substance use issues.
Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; X: @jordyhansen.
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