By Aneesa Grant, The Seattle Medium
Seattle’s Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) recently announced the completion of their Sand Point Cottages community in Magnuson Park, which features 22 cottages for families with children, seniors, veterans, and people living with disabilities who are exiting homelessness.
Each cottage features one bedroom, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, a loft, and a front porch. The community house, which was donated by the Lucky 7 Foundation, features community gathering space, a community kitchen, a computer lab, a property management office, a bathroom, a laundry room, and a spacious porch area. Extensive landscaping, gardens, pathways, and parking complete the design.
“Sand Point Cottage Community is an innovative program to provide attractive cottages in a beautiful park setting,” said Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director. “We are thrilled that the State Housing Trust Fund and other funders are supporting permanent affordable housing in Magnuson Park for families, couples, and singles who are exiting homelessness. We appreciate the City of Seattle providing a long-term land lease to make this cottage housing possible.”
“This innovative project is the result of a strong partnership with our State partners, LIHI, construction trades pre-apprenticeship programs, and the City of Seattle to provide over 36 new neighbors with a warm, affordable place to call home,” said Seattle City Council Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda. “Through a long-term lease on the land to LIHI at a deep discount of $1 a year, this City-owned property will help provide critically needed low-income housing in the community, with a community garden and outdoor space, and common spaces to gather.”
The cottages were built by students in construction trade pre-apprenticeship programs. Six of the cottages were built in modules off-site by students from the Seattle Skills Center at Ingraham High School, Rogers High School, Tulalip TERO Pre-apprenticeship Program, Marysville Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Program, and the Seattle Sand Point Summer Construction Training Program run by LIHI.
“Sand Point Cottages will demonstrate the value of a village setting and the viability of a green, low impact, nontraditional housing option,” said LIHI Board Vice President Melinda Nichols. “We thank the many funders and donors for the vision to make this cottage community a reality.”
The infrastructure work required on the 84,500 SF site was extensive. The cottages average 400 SF, and the construction contract was $5,167,000. Funding sources include the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, KeyBank, Enterprise, NeighborWorks America, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, Community Housing Capital, Lucky 7 Foundation, and other donors.
“Building individual cottages with bathrooms and kitchens is a logical next step,” said Nichols. “We are proud to offer these much-needed homes to people who are exiting homelessness and look forward to the positive impact the Sand Point Cottage Community will have on their lives.”
