June 30, 2020
Affordable housing developer Mt. Baker Housing has paid $5.5 million for a roughly 1.2-acre development site at 4215 S. Trenton St., according to King County records. The nonprofit announced Friday on its website a plan for 236 units on the property, which is one block north of Rainier Beach Station.
Townhouse plans for the property date back to 2017. Intracorp bought the corner, at Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, in 2018 for almost $1.4 million. Permits were issued in April. That 44-unit, 10-building plan, generally called Link Townhomes, is now dead.
When Intracorp began its planning, first with NK Architects and later with Johnston Architects, the corner had mostly low-rise zoning. That changed with a Mandatory Housing Affordability upzone in the spring of 2019. It now has split zoning: 55 feet to the west, and 125 feet to the east facing MLK.
The buyer of record was 4215 MBH LLLP. The deal was worth about $103 per square foot for the land.
Intracorp was represented by the Colliers team of Dan Chann, Tim McKay and Sam Wayne. The asking price was $6 million. Tony Ferrelli of Windermere represented the buyer.
Mt. Baker Housing’s Mike Rooney said in a statement, “It has become increasingly challenging to locate larger sites in close proximity to light rail stations that allow for transit-oriented developments of more than 200 units. This location in Rainier Beach perfectly fit that bill — and we look forward to building a vibrant and welcoming community that serves both working families and individuals.”
No new plans for the corner have yet been filed with the city of Seattle.
Public records indicate a $3.5 million loan from the city’s Department of Housing, via the 2016 Seattle Housing Levy.
A certain number of units will be affordable to households earning up to 60% of area median income. The financing agreement indicates 235 units, plus a manager’s unit.
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission also provided an acquisition loan, with a similar covenant that a certain number of units be affordable to households earning up to 80% of AMI.
Units will range from studios to three-bedroom apartments suitable for families; the latter will comprise about 36% of the total. Ground floor commercial and/or community space is also planned.
The largely wooded corner now has one house, eventually to be removed. It’s just north of the Polynesian Deli, at South Henderson Street.
Meanwhile, Mt. Baker Housing is planning about 192 units in the two-building Maddux, near Mount Baker Station; about 221 units in what it now calls Via7, at 8600 Rainier Ave. S.; and about 202 units at Grand Street Commons (in concert with Lake Union Partners and HAL Real Estate).
In total, Mt. Baker Housing says it has about 1,200 units in the pipeline.