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City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Executive, Mayor celebrate opening of affordable senior housing
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
1/31/2005 10:00:00 AM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barnaby Dow, King County, 206-296-4186
Karin Zaugg Black (206)733-9810
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Executive, Mayor celebrate opening of
affordable senior housing,
208 units housing and 9,000 square feet of commercial space
SEATTLE – King County Executive Ron Sims and Mayor Greg Nickels celebrated the grand opening of Courtland Place today with a group of community, private sector and government partners at the Rainier Court development in the Rainier Valley .
“Today we see our hard work in the Rainier Valley starting to pay off,” said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. “ Courtland Place provides much needed affordable housing for seniors in the Rainier Valley, and created 200 construction jobs during the project. It’s a great example of our work to build community and create jobs in this neighborhood.”
The City, through the Office of Economic Development, has provided over $2.5 million for the Courtland Place site acquisition, and will continue to support SEED (SouthEast Effective Development) with $5.7 million through the Office of Economic Development and $1 million in Office of Housing funds for next phases of the project.
Courtland Place redeveloped 1.3 acres of the seven-acre site at Rainier Court into 208 units of much needed low- and moderate-income senior housing and 9,000 square feet of new ground-floor commercial space. The first commercial tenant, the Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, is scheduled to open in February.
“Strong communities are built from the ground up,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “We are proud to support the transformation of this property into a vital housing and economic center for the community.”
King County , as the administrator of the Brownfields Programs, brought the full impact of that program’s resources to bear on the Rainier Court project to assess environmental conditions and assist with cleanup of the site.
“It’s an exciting day in the Rainier Valley ,” said Earl Richardson, Executive Director of SEED. “Our partnership of government entities, organizations, private developers and community leaders collaborated to make Courtland Place a reality. SEED’s mission is to provide affordable housing and services to the neighborhoods of southeast Seattle . This project helps realize a part of our ongoing dream and will be a catalyst for bringing additional economic opportunities to Rainier Valley.”
Courtland Place is the first phase of a four phase development, which will also include multi-family housing, townhouses and commercial space when it is completed. The next phase of the project, The Dakota, a 178-unit affordable family housing project, is scheduled for completion in September, 2005. Later phases will include lower density housing development with townhouses.
“Courtland Place allows SHAG to help meet the need for safe, secure and affordable housing for seniors in this community,” said Jim Sullivan, Executive Director of Senior Housing Assistance Group (SHAG), who operates Courtland Place.
For leasing information for Courtland Place, contact Leslie Snider at SHAG at 206-722-5778 or leslies@housing4seniors.com or visit SHAG’s website at www.housing4seniors.com.
For more information about the Brownfields Rainier Court project, visit www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/brownfields/success.asp#rainier.
For more information, please visit the Mayor's website, at www.seattle.gov/mayor/, or the King County Executive’s website, at http://www.metrokc.gov/exec.
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