SEATTLE — Seattle’s voter-created social housing agency is buying its second apartment building, a six-story complex with nearly 200 homes in West Seattle.
The Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) board approved the purchase of Youngstown Flats on Tuesday night. The agency plans to pay about $68 million and expects to close in mid-December, according to an SSHD announcement.
The building opened in 2023. Its apartments average more than 800 square feet.
Some tenants could keep lower rents
The building’s current owner recently let a city affordability program called the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) lapse. MFTE gives property owners a tax break in exchange for keeping some units below market rent.
SSHD said about 30 residents could be protected from being priced out because the agency will offer them permanent affordability under its social housing model.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for SSHD,” said interim CEO Tiffani McCoy. “Providing permanently affordable, family-sized housing in different parts of Seattle is what we’re all about.”
Rent freeze and free ORCA passes
SSHD said current residents will get many of the same benefits it offers at its first building, Elara at the Market near Pike Place Market:
- Rent freeze: Rents on existing leases will be frozen for two years, through December 2028.
- Free transit: Every resident will get a free one-year ORCA pass.
- No junk fees: The agency plans to eliminate them.
- Lower utility bills: Within its first year of ownership, SSHD plans to end Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS) charges. Those charges split a building’s utility costs among tenants.
Praise for the deal
Seattle City Council member Rob Saka welcomed the purchase.
“I am so happy to see social housing being built in my district,” Saka said. “Mixed-income communities, where those at lower incomes pay less in rent than those who make more, is an effective way of addressing Seattle’s housing and affordability crisis.”
The building is near the RapidRide C and H bus lines. Sound Transit plans to open the West Seattle Link light rail extension in 2035, adding 3.9 miles of service from SODO to the Alaska Junction.
Youngstown Flats is also near the DragonFly Garden and Pavilion, which has walking trails along Longfellow Creek. The building has 10 ADA-compliant units and five accessible parking spaces.
Second purchase in five months
SSHD was created by Initiative 135, which Seattle voters approved in 2023. It builds and buys housing with the goal of affordability. Rents are tied to income, and the buildings are open to households earning up to 120% of area median income. The agency is funded by a tax on high earners.
Its first purchase was Elara at the Market, a 150-unit building in Belltown that it bought for $60.9 million earlier this year. Earlier this month, SSHD announced its first construction project in the Central District. The agency expects to announce more purchases next year and hopes to own more than 1,000 units by the end of 2027.
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