(The Center Square) – King County and Seattle plan to use a combined $134 million to pay for the construction of 1,600 affordable homes.
Seattle announced it is using $108 million toward affordable housing through its 2023 Housing Levy. The city anticipates the funds to create 655 affordable homes throughout Seattle.
The Seattle Housing Levy’s tax rate is 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $383 a year for the median Seattle homeowner. It is anticipated to collect $970 million through 2030, or $138.6 million annually.
The city’s proposed One Seattle Comprehensive Plan increases zoning capacity to more than 330,000 new housing units, which more than doubles the city’s current housing capacity.
The initial plan estimated that at least 112,000 new units of housing will be needed over the next 25 years.
“By leveraging the voter-approved Housing Levy and working together with our community partners, we are creating affordable homes that will serve generations of Seattle residents,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement. “This is how we advance our One Seattle vision and ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has a place to call home in our growing and thriving city.”
A lack of affordable housing is not just a Seattle issue. King County has worked to improve the region’s housing capacity as more residents move in.
King County announced it is distributing $26 million in funding for the construction of nine affordable housing developments. In total, the funding will generate 848 new homes, 66 renovated rental units, and 25 new home ownership units across King County over five years.
The funds come from the King County Department of Community and Human Services’ Housing Finance Program. The program administers capital funding for affordable housing projects through federal and local sources.
In January 2024, King County distributed $26 million from the program to local organizations to create up to 760 units of affordable housing.
Both the county and city announced the housing funding on Thursday.
It is estimated that there are only 23 units of affordable housing for every 100 low-income households in King County.
The Washington State Department of Commerce projects that nearly 200,000 additional units of affordable housing will be needed by 2044 to ensure that the number of low and fixed-income households can afford a place to call home.
