Seattle officials recently unveiled a plan to create 6,000 units of affordable housing in the city.
Some have called the measure a "grand bargain" between real estate developers and affordable housing advocates. The legislation includes a commercial linkage fee, called the Affordable Housing Impact Mitigation Program. It requires developers to pay a fee for each square foot of new commercial development.
Funds from those fees, ranging from $5 to $17 per square foot, will be used to pay for new affordable housing units. Also part of the plan is a requirement for new multifamily developments to set aside between 5% and 8% of units for affordable housing for 50 years. Residents who earn up to 60% of the area median income, currently $37,680 for individuals and $53,760 for families of four, would be eligible for the affordable units.
In addition, the city will consider increasing development capacity. In the downtown and South Lake Union areas, new developments would be permitted to have an extra 1,000 sf per floor. Outside of the main downtown area, new buildings would be permitted to add an additional story.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Nov 11, 2020
San Jose affordable housing project will feature a mass timber frame
SERA Architects and Lendlease will design and build the project.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 30, 2020
The Weekly show: Multifamily security tips, the state of construction industry research, and AGC's market update
BD+C editors speak with experts from AGC, Charles Pankow Foundation, and Silva Consultants on the October 29 episode of "The Weekly." The episode is available for viewing on demand.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 29, 2020
Uncertainty shades a once-soaring multifamily construction market
Demand varies by region, and by perceptions about the economy, COVID-19, and the election.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 22, 2020
The Weekly show: Universal design in multifamily housing, reimagining urban spaces, back to campus trends
BD+C editors speak with experts from KTGY Architecture + Planning, LS3P, and Omgivning on the October 22 episode of "The Weekly." The episode is available for viewing on demand.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 20, 2020
New multifamily complex completes in Austin
Charlan Brock Associates and Britt Design Group designed the project.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 15, 2020
Miami’s yacht-inspired UNA Residences begins construction
AS+GG designed the tower.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 15, 2020
L.A., all the way
KFA Architecture has hitched its wagon to Los Angeles’s star for more than 40 years.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 2, 2020
Everyone's getting a fire pit!
Skeleton fire pit in Chicago, October 2020
Coronavirus | Oct 2, 2020
With revenues drying up, colleges reexamine their student housing projects
Shifts to online learning raise questions about the value of campus residence life.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 1, 2020
Glass railings installed at 300-unit rental complex in Columbus, Ohio
Vision Communities chose Viewrail railings for the main entrance of The Ave, a 300-unit rental enterprise in Columbus, Ohio.