11. SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

Evergreen Impact Housing Fund Contributes to Nearly 750 Affordable Homes – The Urbanist

Written by Amanda
Solera, an 11 acre, 590-home mixed income housing development with retail in Renton, was the first project to receive funding from the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund. (Credit: Tiscareno and Associates)

Financing affordable housing is not an easy endeavor, and many projects end up with funding gaps that impede them from moving forward. Enter the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund (EIHF), a social impact investment fund managed by the Seattle Foundation that delivers last dollar funding to affordable housing projects. EIHF is a first of its kind model, and according to Kris Hermanns, Chief Impact Officer at Seattle Foundation, it is attracting national attention.

“EIHF has made a tremendous impact — making four, large-scale affordable housing projects possible in less than 12 months. Those projects will provide nearly 750 affordable housing units for thousands of people. We’re extremely excited about this progress,” Hermanns said in an email to The Urbanist.

For these projects, $34.9 million in capital from EIHF was used to leverage another $276.2 million in private and public capital, allowing for developers to close on financing and begin construction. 

A flow chart illustrates how dollars from the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund contribute to financing affordable housing. (Credit: Evergreen Impact Housing Fund)

“EIHF provides a streamlined and efficient mechanism to bring in new, innovative capital from across sectors, especially as we all continue to experience evolving pricing and inflation in the market. EIHF provides a necessary funding mechanism to make these housing deals happen,” Hermanns said.

An example percentage breakdown of the contribution made by Evergreen Impact Housing Fund to an affordable housing development project. (Credit: Evergreen Impact Housing Fund)

A closer look at Evergreen Impact Housing Fund’s investments

The most recent project to receive last dollar funding from EIHF was Watershed, a 145-home development in Renton affordable to households earning an average of 50-60% of the King County annual median income (AMI), which equates to about $71,170 in annual income for a family of four. 

Because many of the homes will have two or three bedrooms, Watershed is expected to house more than 350 people when it begins welcoming residents in late 2023. The development is located close to schools, shopping, parks, and the South Renton Transit center, making it an attractive option for working families. It is also the first of its kind in the state to be constructed under a new building code that requires using sustainable materials and an energy efficient design.

A rendering of the 200-home development in Seattle’s Bitter Lake neighborhood by Bellwether Housing. (Credit: Bellwether Housing)
A rendering of the 125-home Grata development in Kirkland. (Credit: TWG)

“Mission-driven investments from our region’s private sector, like those that created the EIHF, are the biggest transformation in affordable housing finance in decades,” said Susan Boyd, CEO of Bellwether Housing, in a press release. “Instead of waiting in line for scarce State and local capital subsidies, a process that typically adds 2 years to our development timeline, we were able to get this development underway quickly. This means more families will have access to affordable housing much sooner than they otherwise would have without the EIHF. ”   

Solera, also located in Renton, was the first project EIHF invested in. The 590-home mixed-income development broke ground in 2021 and is expected to open in 2024. When it does, half of its homes will be affordable, 20% of which will be set aside for people with disabilities. Solera will also include 39,000 square feet of retail space and more than 1,000 parking spaces. Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone has called the project the “cornerstone of our ongoing redevelopment of the Sunset area.”

The Sunset neighborhood is one of the most diverse in Renton, and redevelopment in the area is being guided by the Sunset Area Transformation Plan, part of a decade-long revitalization effort by the City of Renton, Renton Housing Authority, Renton School District, and other partners.

Managing Editor

Natalie Bicknell Argerious (she/her) is Managing Editor at The Urbanist. A passionate urban explorer since childhood, she loves learning how to make cities more inclusive, vibrant, and environmentally resilient. You can often find her wandering around Seattle’s Central District and Capitol Hill with her dogs and cat. Email her at natalie [at] theurbanist [dot] org.

Source: theurbanist.org

About the author

Amanda

Hi there, I am Amanda and I work as an editor at impactinvesting.ai;  if you are interested in my services, please reach me at amanda.impactinvesting.ai