New Development Helps Keep Families in Seattle Neighborhood

Mercy Othello Plaza offers affordable housing just steps away from a light-rail station in Seattle, providing better access to jobs and educational opportunities as well as creating a space where families can thrive.

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Casey Braunger

The transit-oriented development is built on surplus land that t… Read More The transit-oriented development is built on surplus land that the regional transit provider had acquired when assembling property for a light-rail line.

Courtesy Mercy Housing Northwest

Mercy Othello Plaza includes space for health consultations and … Read More Mercy Othello Plaza includes space for health consultations and screenings. Since the building opened, Mercy Housing Northwest has partnered with Somali Health Board, Muslim Health Professionals, and University of Washington Student Health Initiative for Access to create a sustainable screen-and-refer clinic for both residents and members of the broader Othello community.

Casey Braunger

Mercy Othello Plaza in Seattle by Mercy Housing Northwest.

The 108-unit development is built on land Sound Transit had acquired in preparation for a new rail line. Upon completion of the line, the transit system was left with surplus properties in high-opportunity areas next to its stations.

Sound Transit partnered with the Equitable Transit Oriented Development Loan Fund, a group of private and public financial institutions that coordinates funding for land acquisition in transit-rich urban villages, to award the sites for affordable housing. Mercy Housing Northwest (MHNW) was selected to develop a site in the heart of Othello, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the region, with over 42 languages spoken.

The development is also notable because it comes at a time when more and more low-income families are being pushed out of the city and farther away from jobs and their neighborhoods. “This project serves as an anti-displacement tool for families that have been living in the community and have their roots here,” says Colin Morgan-Cross, associate director, real estate development, at MHNW.

Consisting of over 60% two- and three-bedroom units, Mercy Othello Plaza provides a permanent, stable home for many families and over 95 children. A large community room hosts preschool programs and other family-focused services. Prioritizing programs that focus on improving residents’ health, MHNW has also included clinic space in the new building and has partnered with three organizations to provide health-care services on-site.

The $31.7 million development also shows innovation in its financing, utilizing a condominium ownership structure and leveraging both 4% and 9% low-income housing tax credits. Using both tax credit programs allowed MHNW to create more units and integrate a greater mix of incomes than would have been possible under a typical financing structure. It also limited the need for the scarce 9% credits.

In another move, MHNW relocated its regional headquarters to the property’s ground floor.