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17th & Jackson
Seattle, Washington
$15.5 million
New Markets Tax Credits
Mixed Income Residential/Office/ Retail/Parking; New Construction
73,000 square feet
Description
The 17th & Jackson project is the new construction of a six-story, mixed income and mixed-use building
located in the Central Area Neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The project will include 59 rental apartments,
5,800 square feet of retail space, 3,200 square feet for offices, 2,000 square feet of live/work space, and a 62-stall parking garage containing 17,000 square feet. The 17th & Jackson development will provide much-needed workforce housing in Seattle and will also serve as a catalyst for additional development and economic activity in Seattle’s Central Area community. The project is slated to open in December 2008.
A Green Advantage
By revitalizing a former vacant lot and reclaiming a brownfield site, CADA demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability with the 17th & Jackson development. As a candidate for grant funds through Enterprise’s Green Communities initiative, the 17th & Jackson project expects to fully integrate environmentally sustainable design features and materials, including energy and water-use efficient appliances, improved indoor air quality and other green amenities.
Investment Type
Enterprise’s strategic investment of New Markets Tax Credits for 17th & Jackson helps to create housing
that is affordable to working families earning 70 to 80 percent of area median income. This investment is leveraged by loans from Washington Mutual, the City of Seattle, Office of Economic Development, the Enterprise Community
Loan Fund, NeighborWorks America pre-development funds, and equity from CADA. The total development costs for the project are $22.4 million. Enterprise used the $15.5 million
New Markets Tax Credit allocation to generate a $4.8 million equity investment from Washington Mutual. This amount was further leveraged by an $8.3 million loan from Washington Mutual and $9 million of investment
from CADA and the City of Seattle. The Enterprise Community Loan Fund played a critical role
in bridging a Section 108 loan from the City of Seattle to ensure the project closed on a timely basis.
Market
The 17th & Jackson project is a much-anticipated boost to the local economy and serves as a catalyst for more than $90 million in further development for the Central Area Neighborhood, which is a priority for the City of Seattle and is part of its Department of Planning and Development’s Comprehensive Plan. Other new projects in the Central Area include a 240-unit market rate rental development with ground floor retail space on an adjacent lot and a 100-unit condo development at 20th & Jackson, both of which started construction after the 17th & Jackson project broke ground.
Community Impact
The 17th & Jackson project will revitalize Seattle’s Central Area neighborhood, which is recognized by local government as a distressed area due to unemployment and poverty rates that are higher than national averages.
This mixed-use development project helps address a critical need for affordable and workforce rental housing in Seattle, which has experienced a net loss of rental units in recent years resulting from the growth in condo conversions and a lack of new construction. In addition, the retail space at 17th & Jackson will be targeted primarily at small local businesses and nonprofit groups and will help spur economic development and activity in the Central Area. Further, up to 40 percent of the development’s construction is anticipated to involve minority and women owned businesses as contractors, and approximately 40 permanent positions including managerial, administrative, retail and service jobs will be created.
Developer
The Central Area Development Association (CADA) is a community-based development organization whose goal is to revitalize the Central Area of Seattle. The organization was founded in 1994 in response to a community summit arranged to facilitate discussion of revitalization efforts because the Central Area had suffered through years of abandonment and disinvestment. CADA’s programs focus on market rate and affordable multifamily acquisition and rehabilitation, mixed-use development, and residential and commercial physical enhancement projects.
The City of Seattle is a strong supporter of and investor in the 17th & Jackson project and has a long-standing relationship
with CADA, having provided consistent operational support, program grants, real estate loans and technical assistance since CADA’s inception.
The 17th & Jackson development team also includes the contractor Marpac, Inc., the development manager
Pacific Housing NW, and Streeter and Associates Architects, AIA.
Investor
Washington Mutual Community Development, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Washington Mutual Bank (NYSE:WM), one of the nation’s leading consumer and small business banks with assets of $349 billion. The company operates in four business segments, retail banking and financial services, home loans, card services, and commercial real estate.
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