Ethiopian Village on Rainier Avenue Opens

by Ronnie Estoque

For more than eight years, the Ethiopian Community in Seattle (ECS), an organization that provides various services to Ethiopian immigrants transitioning to the U.S., has worked arduously on the development of the Ethiopian Village on Rainier Avenue. Last month, the ECS celebrated the grand opening of its new space, which features 89 affordable units for low-income seniors ages 55+, Cafe Avole, and more office and community space that will expand ECS' programming and outreach.

"The grand opening was the end of a journey, but it's also the beginning of a new era for us. It was a very exciting and joyful day," said Sophia Benalfew, executive director of the ECS. "It was just exciting to see it all come together."

Its previous assembly hall was remodeled, expanding the space for community events, such as fitness for seniors and camps for youth. The new office space also includes classrooms students can use after school to study and eventually enroll in programs such as coding.

"In the summer, we'll have summer camps. Having the space will give us a number of opportunities to continue what we've been doing, as well as to add more in consultation with our community," Benalfew said. "It's also the beginning of an era because it will enable us to provide more services in response to evolving needs of our community."

ECS formed a Building Committee when it initially purchased the property, and eight years ago, it created a Housing Steering Committee, which represents local community leaders, to breathe life into the idea of building a development for affordable housing on the property.

Because of gentrification and the rising costs of living, senior housing has been central to the creation and design of the building, and potential residents themselves were involved in the planning process. "The seniors were having problems with accessing housing at an affordable rate. So gradually, that idea became a plan, you know, when they started reaching out to partners who are more experienced in housing [and] developers," Benalfew said. "A number of seniors also went down to Olympia to advocate for the building in explaining why they need housing. It was a gradual process, it took patience."

Benalfew joined the ECS four years ago and acknowledges that the opening of the Ethiopian Village wouldn't be a reality without the dedication of community members who pushed the project into motion by attending numerous planning meetings and providing feedback to the building architects to ensure that finalized designs reflected functionality and Ethiopian culture.

"People have been working towards this goal for years. … We have had our ups and downs, but what brought us to this stage is just the community sticking together through it all on the way to the finish line. I would like to really appreciate the dedication and the resilience of the community," Benalfew said.

Now that the space is open, Benalfew is looking forward to engaging with local community members and organizations to activate the space.

"Let's get working together, because now we have a space, so we need to fill the space with people, and have a number of programs for different demographics. We need to keep on working together to design programs, and I invite all community members to tell us what they want to see in this building as well, because we don't want to sit here and, you know, design programs that wouldn't work. We want to do it together with our community, as we have been doing it in the earlier years," Benalfew said.

According to Benalfew, there are still apartments available for occupancy; those interested can apply on the Ethiopian Village webpage.

📸 Featured Image: Sophia Benalfew, executive director of the Ethiopian Community in Seattle, outside the new center at the Ethiopian Village.