Mount Zion on 19th Affordable Senior Housing Project Receives State Funding Boost

by Justin Carder

(This article originally appeared on the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog and has been reprinted with permission.)

The State will give a more than $1 million boost to a senior housing project currently under construction on 19th Avenue and hopes to help address displacement in the Central District.

The Mount Zion on 19th project was awarded $1,025,768 by the Washington State Department of Commerce and was announced as part of $18.6 million for 16 projects supporting the development of more than 1,500 affordable housing units across the state.

The property on 19th Avenue just north of East Madison Street is being developed by the housing arm of the nearby Mount Zion Baptist Church. The property was previously occupied by the church's Price Arms apartments, a two-story, four-unit apartment building that county tax records indicate was built in 1901.

Plans call for six-stories above ground and one below in a design from Rolluda Architects Inc. The seven-story building includes 10 studios, 50 one-bedroom units, and a single two-bedroom unit. There will be seven parking stalls and 12 bike parking spaces. The plan also includes space for group meetings or activities and a roof deck.

The housing is going to be rented at prices designed to be affordable to people making between 30% and 60% of the area median income with some of the units set aside for veterans.

The state funding comes in the form of Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) grants that can provide up to $2.5 million for "sewer, water or stormwater improvements and/or waived system development charges for new affordable housing projects."

Mount Zion, which also owns other land in the area around 19th and Madison, also has major plans for its main church property as part of a long-term planning process that created a framework for "a major expansion of new and existing structures."

The 19th Avenue project broke ground in October and is expected to be completed in winter of 2023.

The new building will add to options for seniors hoping to continue living in the central city. Pride Place, an eight-story affordable housing development dedicated to serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer seniors with 118 units of studio and one-bedroom apartments, 3,800 square feet of commercial retail space, and a 4,400-square-foot senior and health services center, is under construction on Broadway between Pike and Pine.

Justin Carder is the editor and founder of the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.

Featured Image: Rendering of Mount Zion on 19th. Image courtesy of the City of Seattle.