How much of Seattle’s housing is affordable? No one knows for sure
Until last month, I managed a 20-unit apartment building in Lake City. A one bedroom rented for about $900 a month; a two-bedroom, $1,100. One tenant, an Ethiopian immigrant, drove a taxi. Another man...
View ArticleCity Council looks for HALA answers
Are the recommendations of Mayor Ed Murray’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda group going to make real improvements in housing options for low-income people? The Seattle City Council’s...
View ArticleCan Seattle legally force developers to fund affordable housing?
Last spring, as the clock ran down on Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s affordable housing task force, tensions built around proposals to require developers to help fund housing for low-income residents....
View ArticleWhy it’s so hard to build truly affordable housing in Seattle
The Thunderbird Motel was a longtime eyesore, even among the notorious stretch of seedy establishments along Aurora Avenue. The gun violence, drug dealing and prostitution were so thick, the building...
View ArticleHundreds vie for a chance at affordable housing
It’s a street-level reminder of the intense competition for affordable housing: People begin lining up on Sunday afternoon, 24 hours before they could apply for a chance to live in the new Roberto...
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