City signs letter of intent with Imagine Housing for Affordable Housing

Artist image of proposed mixed housing complex. Credit – Imagine Housing

At the Sept. 30 City Council meeting, the Kenmore City Council approved the terms of a

Letter of Intent (LOI) with Imagine Housing for “The Approach at Kenmore,” an affordable

housing development slated for City-owned property at 7010 NE 181st Street. This is an

important milestone in the City’s ongoing commitment to addressing housing needs for

residents of all income levels.

The proposed development at 7010 NE 181st St will include:

Affordable Multifamily Rental:  The Approach at Kenmore is focused on families, providing ample amenities that includes an expansive courtyard, a rooftop terrace with stunning views, community space, laundry facilities, and activity spaces for kids to play.

• Home Ownership: Habitat for Humanity SKKC will create 20 affordable homeownership opportunities within the project. These for-sale housing units will bring financially accessible home-ownership opportunities to the Kenmore community.

• Community Service: Imagine Housing will partner with a complementary community service partner to provide access to essential services for on-site residents—as well as the broader Kenmore community.

Project Components:

Project will consist of rental units (at least 103) and ownership units (at least 18), and

will contain a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units.

• Affordability shall remain in effect for 50 years and development will have an income

  threshold range of 50%-60% AMI (Area Median Income) for rental units and 80%

  AMI for ownership units.

• Financing for the development, including ongoing operations, shall not require any

  tenants are “homeless upon entry” and shall not require that the development provide

  permanent supportive housing, homeless shelter, or emergency shelter housing.

• The rental unit building will contain a community/commercial ground floor space and

  a good faith effort will be made to lease that space to a non-profit service provider.

Imagine Housing will hold a series of community events to share updates and answer questions. To get email updates visit their website.

The first community meeting will be held Feb. 6, 6pm to 7:30pm at City Hall