(Image: Seattle Social Housing Developer)
More than 10,000 people have applied to live in Elara at the Market, the first building to be acquired and converted to affordable housing by the city’s new Seattle Social Housing program.
For now, only 15 will be selected.
The Elara, just steps from Pike Place Market, has 150 units but most of those apartments in the acquired building already have tenants. The lottery process underway begins with the first 15 vacancies, officials said.
Real Change reports the first 15 units will be available to households making 30% or less of the area median income.
Rents are expected to range from $660 for a studio to just under $1,500 for two bedrooms,
CHS reported here on the major milestone for the Seattle Social Housing Developer as it acquired its first building in a $60 million deal. At $400,000 a unit, SSHD officials say the purchase of the 2017-built Western Ave apartment building falls below recent downtown sales for comparable buildings.
CHS reported in February as a stronger than expected tax boost powered SSHD to a $115 million start on its mission to acquire and develop affordable housing in the city thanks to the first payments from the voter-approved February 2025 Prop 1A 5% tax on employers that pay any employee more than $1 million in compensation.
Tenants of SSHD properties must fall in strict income categories. Under the social housing model, units are tied to income tiers. SSHD plans to fill 60 units of deeply affordable housing this year, dedicating the first 15 upcoming vacancies to households at or below 30% of the median income and another 45 units to those between 30% and 50% AMI.
Other changes for Elara residents include SSHD’s elimination of bike storage and pest control fees, transitioning from the Ratio Utility Billing System, and freezing current lease rents through June 2028. Additionally, tenants will receive free, one-year ORCA passes subsidized by King County Metro.
Application processes for new buildings can be illustrative of the massive demand for more affordable housing in the city. But they also can show the challenges of finding qualified tenants.
In 2020 as the affordable Station House development above Capitol Hill Station prepared to open, more than 1,300 people applied for the project’s 110 affordable apartments. Station House’s mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units are available to those earning at or below 30%, 50%, and 60% of area median income.
Despite the influx of interest, developer Community Roots Housing was still seeking qualified applicants by the time the building opened to resident months later.
Community Roots has been hosting “drop-in” sessions to help connect more potential tenants with vacancies at its affordable buildings.
Proving eligibility can be onerous. You’ll need to bring, ID for all adults 18+, birth certificates for minors, income verification “such as your last 6 paystubs, a Social Security award letter, pension information, self-employment verification, rental history for the last 2 years, and bank account information, the developer says.
You can learn more about SSHD’s housing opportunities and lottery process here.
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