(Image: Community Roots Housing)
Affordable developer Community Roots Housing has not yet put the properties up for sale but an ongoing “disposition” process will include six area apartment complexes including three in a cluster around Capitol Hill’s Miller Park neighborhood.
The early steps in the effort come as the developer says it is facing ongoing challenges from the pandemic including financing issues around its development projects including the new affordable mass-timber development Heartwood at 14th and Union. It also comes in a string of sales the developer has said are strategic transactions and not an effort to sell off its main portfolio. CORRECTION: CHS incorrectly described the Heartwood as a “publicly supported” project but a Community Roots Housing spokesperson says the development was not financed with any public subsidy. We have updated the post.
Previous sales have included some of the more expensive to maintain stock held by Community Roots Housing, created in 1976 as Capitol Hill Housing. The new roster of properties being moved forward under the publicly supported developer’s “Policy Framework for Use of Physical Assets” is different than those recent sales — each of the six properties is subject to federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Housing Assistance Payments contracts.
The six properties are the Elizabeth James, Four Twelve, Hazel Plaza, Mary Ruth Manor, Silvian, and Union James apartment complexes, according to a July Community Roots Housing board update.
The developer has said it does not expect a continued selloff of its holdings including more than 40 buildings around Capitol Hill but is addressing a strategic need to “build up cash reserves” and “support strengthening our business model amid extraordinary and persistent operational challenges chiefly resulting from the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic.”
Launched in 1976 as Capitol Hill Housing, the organization began by acquiring old buildings to turn them into income restricted housing. As the developer grew, it moved into rehabilitating midsize buildings. When the housing pressures around central Seattle mounted, it lead the organization to embark on ambitious new construction projects. A prime example: The developer collaborated with Black and Central District focused groups to open the Liberty Bank Building, an equitable development and affordable housing project at 24th and Union, in 2019.
In 2023, it opened Pride Place, an “affordable, affirming housing for LGBTQIA+ seniors” on Broadway between Pike and Pine.
But development growth has been challenging as the Community Roots Housing board wrestles with securing loan extensions and new solutions to finance its projects as King County and the City of Seattle funding dries up amid 2025 deficit concerns.
CHS reported here in May 2023 as Community Roots put 15th Ave E’s 12-unit Fredonia building on the market.
The Public Development Authority said the 115-year-old mixed-use building had become too expensive to maintain and proceeds would be used “to support the rehabilitation of other existing affordable housing stock within our portfolio, the development of new affordable housing, and operating support to strengthen the organization’s capacity to foster strong communities.”
The building’s $5 million June 2023 sale will power the creation of “hundreds of affordable units” in Seattle, Community Roots said.
In October, CHS reported on Community Roots Housing putting the Park Hill building, a 1907-era, three-story masonry apartment building at 13th and Madison, on the market.
According to county records, that property sold for $7 million in July. Elevate Investments, “a dedicated real estate investment firm with a focus on value add multi-family opportunities in the beautiful Pacific Northwest region,” was the buyer.
As for the six HUD properties, the Community Roots Housing board has directed the organization to sell the complexes “at the highest price” in a process that will be limited to buyers that can operate the properties under the existing federal Housing Assistance Payments contracts.
It is possible the newly created Seattle Social Housing Developer could be a player but its financial future is also murky. The Seattle City Council this month opted not to move forward with a procedural vote that could have brought a public vote in November on the Let’s Build Social Housing ballot initiative that would add a 5% tax on companies for every dollar over a million paid to a Seattle employee in annual compensation including salary, stock, and bonuses. That initiative is now lined up for a February special election vote.
Meanwhile, Community Roots Housing is trying to move forward with its plans for new development including The Constellation Center, a $37 million project to create a center of education and training and eight stories of affordable housing that will bring together young adult homelessness service provider YouthCare, Seattle Central College, FareStart, the King County Center for Education and Career Opportunities and more to create “a hub of workforce development services” in the heart of Capitol Hill at Broadway and Pine.
Groundbreaking on that project has been planned for later this year.
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This is a start!
To throw in any public leaning/affordable housing to compete or otherwise have to swim in the overall real estate market is fundamentally wrong-headed.
But the ones who whine and moan about taxes don’t want to do anything else
If it’s anything like their current properties’ prices, don’t bother! How is $1700-1800/month for a 450 square foot apartment considered affordable housing? It’s laughable.
Community Roots really needs to focus on improving the buildings they have rather than continuing to open new ones.
They do not address the security issues and the maintenance issues that are going on in the buildings they already own yet new ones are popping up all the time.
I may be feeling slow. But does this mean they are selling these properties or not? And who’s buying them? Who has purchased these in the past?
If Roots, with almost 50 years experience providing affordable housing, cannot run and make a go of these buildings, how can any other purchaser hope to run these buildings and keep them secure, clean and pay for themselves? The buildings are already heavily subsidized and it’s nearly impossible to remove those tenants who refuse to pay rent. Why would any organization buy them and if they do, I would imagine things would get worse for the tenants and not better. New buyers would have a new and higher (and more expensive) mortgage than Roots and be walking into failing and crumbling buildings with little hope of earning enough in monthly rents to pay for any improvements. I wish them well, but they are facing the same problems other low income housing projects face and the same problems “Social Housing” is going to face in the future.
And if no buyers?
And what do they say about possible displacement? How many CRH tenants are impacted?
It appears more property’s might be sold as well by CRH to fund there larger projects. As a long time resident it is no surprise.
roots housings buildings, tenants, rent collection, maintenance, security, consistancy would improve significantly if they had someone go in and revamp the property management department…..their leasing department sucks i have never felt like such an inconvenience in my life trying to get an apartment and the problems have never gotten better since moving in. since then the turnover of employees we have had 4 managers since january and its only october they cant keep anyone due to not having training and the leadership department is the problem …………its a bunch of idiots trying to all do what they want with no colabboration and people cant stand working there….. due to the low pay low support and sad sad culture of mean people…… they bought pride place and the wood building…..pride place should have had a line out the door because what it is……lgbtq housing ….in capital hill…… and 2 years later it isnt even half leased up what is the problem its not that no one is looking for housing thats not the problem heart wood has no funding like taxcredit or seattle authority its just a normal marketed rate apartment and they made a mistake. so the buidlings that are mentuioned above in the article….they suffer and are sacrificed for the old buildings sad sad sad