- SHA
- Bonus: It'll all be built with watercolors!
Once again because it bears repeating: Tonight is your last chance to publicly voice your thoughts and hurdle criticisms at the Seattle Housing Authority's proposed rebuild of the 70-year-old low-income apartment complex.
Under the SHA proposal, 561 wood-frame units that currently overlook I-5 on First Hill would be bulldozed and replaced with a series of new buildings and towers—some up to 85 feet tall—spread across eight blocks. The towers would holding 1,801 apartments serving a range of low-income and workforce-housing residents**, and another 1,200-3,200 market-rate apartments and condos.
- The Stranger
- Courtesy of SHA
Of course there are critics of the plan, and of course some of their points are more valid than others.
Some argue that the number of low-income units proposed for actual Yesler Terrace site—as opposed the greater, eight-block redevelopment "zone"—is appallingly low when compared with the number of higher-priced apartments. "The small number of low income units compared to market rate is disgraceful," writes a group calling itself Citizens Rethink Yesler.
Others worry that transportation infrastructure in the area can't support such a dramatic population influx. (HOT TIP: Buses have wheels!)
City council members will be discussing a slew of amendments to the Yesler Terrace legislation tomorrow morning—among them, an amendment to expand the number of family-sized apartments in the plan (as opposed to one- and two-bedroom units) and an amendment that would prevent SHA from shuffling more than 20 low-income units (in the 60 and 80 percent AMI brackets) off site to make room for richer residents. Here's a .pdf of all the proposed amendments if you're curious; I'll be posting more about them tomorrow.
**For the detailed income/unit breakdown, check out this handy presentation: .pdf.