SEATTLE — Families looking for affordable housing in Seattle will eventually have more options.
Ground was broken for apartments in South Lake Union on Dexter Avenue North near Aurora Avenue, at a ceremony Tuesday.
The 71-unit building, named Anchor Flats, will have rents ranging from $840 to $1,200, or half the market rate for the area.
Officials from the City of Seattle has said they want to create thousands of affordable housing units. $7.3 million of city money from the South Lake Union neighborhood upzoning program is being used for the project, according to Todd Burley with the Seattle Office of Housing.
Bellwether Housing will manage the building.
Lower-income families have seen rents in Seattle skyrocket and found themselves pushed out unless affordable options exist.
"Our vacancy rate is almost zero. Once a vacancy pops up, it's taken almost immediately by a family who needs it,” said Susan Boyd with Bellwether Housing.
Bellwether Housing says they hope the Anchor Flats building will serve people who make single-person incomes around $35,000 a year.