State money is helping boost the supply of safe, affordable apartments for Snohomish County’s growing population of senior citizens.
A $2.4 million loan is headed to Senior Services of Snohomish County for 126 units in Marysville, Monroe and Sultan.
“Essentially, we’re buying four buildings,” said Chris Jowell, housing director for the Mukilteo-based nonprofit. “This is one piece of the puzzle that will help us acquire these buildings.”
The money is part of $22 million in grants and loans for affordable housing the state Department of Commerce announced last week. Low-income housing programs in six other counties also received money to build or refurbish a combined 706 units.
Senior Services of Snohomish County gets the state money in the form of a low-interest loan with a generous payback period.
All of the apartment buildings involved in the project are occupied already, Jowell said. The price for buying and remodeling the apartments is about $13.5 million, so the loan covers less than a fifth of the total. The goal is to keep rents low for low-income seniors, so they aren’t priced out in the future by rising market rates.
Senior Services is working with a business partner, Shelter Resources Inc. of Bellevue, to spruce up the buildings so they’re safer and healthier.
The company hopes to start construction by early 2011, associate developer Ryan Brennen said. Work is expected to take about a year. The project aims to use sustainable materials, in areas such as carpeting and cabinetry, and to make the buildings more energy efficient.
The number of older people in Snohomish County is expected to rise sharply over the next 10 years, making affordable housing a more pressing issue. The county’s area plan on aging estimates that in 2006, 90,138 people — 13 percent of Snohomish County’s population — were 60 years old or older.
By 2020, that number is expected to grow to 190,258 and comprise 22 percent of the population. Many of those people don’t have enough money to pay for their housing.
Snohomish County awarded $120,000 to the senior services agency this fall to help get leverage for the state loan, county spokesman Christopher Schwarzen said.
The county Human Services Department also helped the organization get money in the spring.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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