After mooning over this project for over a year, we're finally seeing legislative traction: Yesterday, Mayor Mike McGinn's office pneumatic tubed legislation down to the city council that would allow Capitol Hill Housing to develop the 29,000 square-foot police parking lot on 12th Avenue and Pine Street into a six-story affordable housing and arts space.

The legislation calls for the building to hold 88-units of affordable housing, 15,000 square feet of community commercial space for nonprofit groups, two small theater venues, and street-level retail space. It will also include a secure underground parking garage with a minimum of 111 stalls for the exclusive use of the Seattle Police Department.

The total project cost has ballooned from $38 million to $43 million; Still, the mayor's office confirms none of the money will come from the city's general fund.

Ha ha, nevermind! The mayor's office now says that, "$270,000 in 2012 and $75,000 per year for the following five years" will be funneled from the general fund for the project, according to mayoral spokesman Aaron Pickus. He added that the negotiation was "a fair contribution for the City’s use of the parking garage for the East Precinct."

CHH is running a capital campaign to raise $4.6 million. "We’ve had great success and been able to both increase our goal and get closer to the goal," says Michael Seiwerath, executive director of the CHH Foundation. (The former goal was $3.2 million.) "We've raised $3.2 million and we're now at 70 percent of our [$4.6 million] goal."

Bank loans, new market tax credits, and seller financing will pay for the remainder of the non-residential portion of the project, while the building's 88 residential units will be financed through sources like the Housing Levy, the state Housing Trust Fund, and low-income tax credits.

Assuming all goes swimmingly on the council's end, the project will break ground this fall and be completed sometime in 2014.