Paul Allen-Funded Affordable Housing Project Has Groundbreaking

SEATTLE, WA – Nearly 100 families living on the bubble – or worse – are a tiny bit closer to getting a home. There was a groundbreaking Tuesday for the Mount Baker Family Housing and Resource Center.

The building, which is being built at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South Hanford Street, will provide a mix of supportive housing for vulnerable homeless families, units for formerly homeless families who no longer need as much support, and affordable housing for low-wage families that earn significantly below the area's median income.

The building is being funded with $30 million from Paul Allen, $5 million from the city's Office of Housing, and a nearly $11 million housing tax credit. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts.

Once open, the center will provide resources not just for residents but for the community. It will have two entrances, one for the community and a separate one for residents.

Mercy Housing will develop and operate the building, which is expected to open in 2020.

"We see this as a really unique opportunity to mix those high-need opportunities with permanent ones, the director of philanthropy at Mercy, Marcia Wright-Soika, said. "Families experience homelessness in different ways than single adults. There is usually a focus on trying to remain as stable as possible for as long as possible."

Placement services for the center will be handled by groups including Mary's Place and Refugee Women's Allliance, which will also handle mental health services there.

The center will also offer child care resources, play groups, and health education.

"The partnerships we recruited for the resource center and expanding capacity of diversion services is really important to how a family experiences these types of crises," Wright-Soika said.

Image via Paul Allen Foundation.