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The City of Seattle
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An ordinance relating to the Office of Housing; authorizing the acquisition of two parcels in the Central Area for the purpose of developing affordable homeownership units; placing the property under the jurisdiction of the Office of Housing; authorizing the Director of the Office of Housing or the Director’s designee to issue a request for proposals and to select a developer and thereafter to execute and deliver a contract for transfer of land, deed, and related documents; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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Recitals:
In 1999, the Seattle Office of Housing (OH) provided a loan of $745,335 to the Central Area Development Association (Borrower) to facilitate the Borrower’s acquisition and rehabilitation of the Harvey Apartments, a 20-unit 1909-era apartment building located at 2615 East Cherry Street in Seattle’s Central Area.
The 1999 loan was secured by a deed of trust, assignment of rents, security agreement, and fixture filing recorded under Recording No. 9902264602 of King County, Washington.
The loan documents associated with the 1999 loan included a regulatory agreement, recorded under Recording No. 9902264600 of King County, Washington, which among other obligations required that the Borrower continuously maintain 18 City-funded units for low-income rental housing through the year 2039.
The Borrower owned and operated the Harvey Apartments until 2024 when the Borrower and OH jointly agreed that the building’s physical condition had deteriorated to the point of no longer being habitable.
The Harvey Apartments has remained vacant since July 2025, when all remaining occupants were relocated to other OH-financed affordable rental housing, and at which point the Borrower could no longer meet its obligations to maintain City-funded units under the terms of the regulatory agreement.
The Borrower separately acquired real property adjacent to the Harvey Apartments in 1999.
OH seeks to enter into a settlement agreement with the Borrower to (1) accept a deed to the Harvey Apartments property in lieu of foreclosure, and (2) enter into a purchase and sale agreement with the Borrower to acquire the real property adjacent to the Harvey Apartments.
Rapidly escalating housing costs have contributed to ongoing economic displacement of the Central Area’s low-income residents as well as a dearth of homeownership opportunities affordable and available to low- and moderate-income households living or seeking to live in this historically affordable and racially diverse neighborhood.
Homeownership is far less common for Seattle’s households of color than for the city’s white households. A little over one third of households of color living in Seattle own their home compared to slightly over one half of white households.
Seattle experienced an especially steep decline in homeownership rates among Black households with the rate declining by roughly 11 percentage points (from 37 percent as estimated in the 1990 Census to 26 percent as estimated in the 2019 five-year Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy dataset).
OH operates an affordable homeownership program that finances the development of for-sale homes that are affordable and available to low and moderate-income households earning up to 80 percent of area median income.
Securing sites appropriate for development of affordable housing is challenging throughout Seattle, but especially so in costly areas where existing residents are at high risk of economic displacement, including the Central Area.
OH expects to engage community stakeholders to inform a future vision for the redevelopment of the two parcels for new affordable for-sale housing.
Therefore,
Be it ordained by The City of Seattle as follows:
Section 1. The Director of the Office of Housing or designee (Director) is authorized on behalf of The City of Seattle to acquire real property (Parcel A) situated in the City of Seattle, County of King, State of Washington and identified as King County parcel number 121100-0195, together with all rights, privileges, and other property pertaining thereto:
The east 20 feet of Lot 1, Block 1, and Lot 24, Block 1, Burgert Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded in Volume 17 of Plats, page 51, Records of King County, Washington.
The east 20 feet of Lot 1, Block 1, and Lot 24, Block 1 Burgert Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded in Volume 17 of Plats, page 51, Records of King County, Washington.
The east 20 feet of Lots 2 through 3, Block 1 and Lot 23, Block 1, Burgert Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded in Volume 17 of Plats, page 51, Records of King County, State of Washington. Situate in the County of King, State of Washington.
Section 2. The Director of the Office of Housing or designee (Director) is authorized on behalf of the City of Seattle to acquire real property (Parcel B) which together with Parcel A is shown in Attachment 1 to this ordinance, situated in the City of Seattle, County of King, State of Washington and identified as King County parcel number 121100-0196, together with all rights, privileges, and other property pertaining thereto:
The east 20 feet of Lot 1, Block 1, and Lot 24, Block 1 Burgert Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded in Volume 17 of Plats, page 51, Records of King County, Washington.
The east 20 feet of Lots 2 through 3, Block 1 and Lot 23, Block 1, Burgert Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded in Volume 17 of Plats, page 51, Records of King County, State of Washington. Situate in the County of King, State of Washington.
Section 3. For purposes of acquiring the real property described in Sections 1 and 2 of this ordinance, the Director is authorized to enter into a settlement agreement (the Settlement Agreement) with the Central Area Development Association (Borrower) consistent with the terms set forth in the Settlement Agreement Term Sheet attached to this ordinance as Attachment 2.
Section 4. In accordance with the Settlement Agreement, the Director is authorized to (1) accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure from the Borrower for Parcel A, in the form pursuant to the quitclaim deed attached to this ordinance as Attachment 3, and (2) enter into a purchase and sale agreement with the Borrower, substantially in the form attached to this ordinance as Attachment 4.
Section 5. The Director is authorized to take ownership of Parcel A subject to the existing State Housing Trust Fund deed of trust and covenant as encumbrances.
Section 6. The Director is authorized to accept and record deeds for Parcel A and Parcel B, and is further authorized to execute, deliver, administer, and perform additional agreements and record additional documents as the Director shall deem necessary or advisable for the purpose of completing the acquisition of Parcel A and Parcel B consistent with the terms outlined in the Settlement Agreement Term Sheet attached to this ordinance as Attachment 2 and subject to appropriation authority. Such other agreements or documents may include a settlement agreement, a purchase and sale agreement, and a priority and subordination agreement or other agreement with the Washington State Department of Commerce related to its interest in Parcel A.
Section 7. The Director is authorized to conduct a competitive process for development of Parcel A and Parcel B for the development of homeownership units affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
Thereafter, the Director is authorized to negotiate a property transfer agreement and any ancillary documents required to accomplish the transfer of ownership to the selected developer (Developer), or with a designee or assignee of the Developer approved by the Director, on the terms and subject to the conditions authorized in this ordinance, including those found in Harvey Request for Proposal Term Sheet, attached to this ordinance as Attachment 5.
Section 8. The Director shall provide a summary of the selected proposal to the Chair of the Housing, Arts and Civil Rights Committee, or successor committee, once the competitive process is complete. The summary should identify the developer(s), number and size of units, and affordability levels of units.
Section 9. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Property Map
Attachment 2 - Settlement Agreement Term Sheet
Attachment 3 - Quit Claim Deed Form
Attachment 4 - Purchase and Sale Agreement Form
Attachment 5 - Harvey Request for Proposal Term Sheet
This ordinance shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Sections 1.04.020 and 1.04.070.
Passed by the City Council and signed in open session in authentication of its passage on .
President of the City Council
on .
Katie B. Wilson, Mayor
Scheereen Dedman, City Clerk