Three Beacon Projects Awarded City of Seattle Funding

Posted by beacon on Mon, Mar 18, 2019 at 8:55 AM

Beacon, Family Housing, Senior Housing, Washington

In December, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that the City of Seattle will invest more than $75M to build and preserve affordable housing across Seattle. Ten New Construction projects were awarded funding including Northaven Three, Chief Seattle Club, and Maddux Apartments.

Northaven Three Anticipated Completion Date Early 2022

Northaven Three is a partnership between Northaven Senior Housing and HumanGood Affordable Housing to develop 85 units of affordable housing, serving independent seniors earning up to 30%, 50% and 60% of area median income. HumanGood and Northaven have partnered based on their aligned missions to provide high quality communities for seniors. The project will be located adjacent to the Northgate mall and less than a mile from the Northgate transit center and future light rail.

Chief Seattle Club Anticipated Completion Date October 2021

Chief Seattle Club (CSC) is developing a mixed-use affordable housing project in Pioneer Square. The eight-story building will include 80 units of housing (60 units will serve people who are homeless), CSC program spaces, a gallery/café and a primary care clinic. The project will provide a portion of the units with rental assistance so that some individuals pay no more than 30% of their income for rent. It will be designed to support the physical, cultural and spiritual needs of people in the Native community. Housing-based case management will be provided onsite and residents will have access to the community supports and services that are provided at CSC.

Maddux Apartments Anticipated Completion Date October 2021

Maddux Apartments is a two-building development, sponsored by Mount Baker Housing Association, that will provide affordable workforce housing for individuals and families earning at or below 50% and 60% area median income. The two-buildings will consist of 166 units: 97 studios, 11 one-bedroom, 48 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom. The project is a transit-oriented development located 2 blocks from the light rail in the Mount Baker neighborhood. Both buildings will provide ground floor commercial space, laundry facilities on each floor, resident lounge areas and a roof top terrace space.

HopeWorks Station II and Colby Avenue Center Groundbreakings

Posted by beacon on Fri, May 25, 2018 at 9:47 AM

Beacon, Family Housing, Special Needs, Urban/Mixed Use, Washington

Beacon Development Group is proud to announce the financial closing and groundbreaking of two new affordable housing projects in Everett, WA: HopeWorks Station II and The Colby Avenue Youth Center.

Conceptual rendering of HopeWorks Station II

HopeWorks Station II is sponsored by Housing Hope and HopeWorks and is located within the Everett Station District neighborhood on the 3300 block of Broadway in downtown Everett.

This new transit oriented, mixed-use development will provide affordable housing dedicated to serving individuals and small families who enter the residential program through homelessness or who are very low income. It will offer a Workforce Development Center comprised of food-focused culinary training programs, career counseling and confidence building, offering sustainable career pathways. The residential portion of the project will consist of 65 apartments: 28 studios, 27 one-bedrooms and 10 two-bedroom units dedicated to empowering disadvantaged veterans, families and youth towards self-sufficiency. For updated project information please click here.

The list of funders is extensive and includes predevelopment funding from Impact Capital, Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity from Enterprise, construction lending from JP Morgan Chase Bank, a Federal Home Loan Bank AHP award, New Markets Tax Credits allocated from Enterprise and Northern Trust, a bridge loan from Enterprise Community Loan Fund, public funding from the State of WA, City of Everett and Snohomish County, social investors and corporate, foundation and private donors from the community.

Conceptual Renderings of Cocoon House

The Colby Avenue Youth Center is Cocoon House’s new 31,848 square foot facility that will include a 4,200 SF youth drop-in center, social service and program space, and housing with 40 units for homeless youth and young adults. Cocoon House’s goal in creating this new building is to provide homeless youth in Snohomish County with access to a full array of housing and services in one, safe, secure location. The ground-floor youth day center will include a commercial kitchen, large common room, laundry area, shower rooms, computer room, music room, counseling offices and a visiting nurse primary care office. Cocoon House’s outreach, homeless prevention and administrative offices will also be located on this floor. The 40 units of housing, located on the second and third floors, will include 20 SRO units of transitional housing for 15 – 17 year old youth and 20 units of permanent supportive housing units for 18 – 24 year old young adults. The housing areas include common area kitchens and living rooms for residents to gather, eat and socialize. Twenty-four hour staffing and intensive case management support will also be provided by Cocoon House.

The list of funders includes WA State Dept of Commerce, Snohomish County, City of Everett, City of Marysville, Peoples Bank and Cocoon House.

Plaza Roberto Maestas Grand Opening

Posted by beacon on Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 5:06 PM

Beacon, Family Housing, Project Openings, Urban/Mixed Use, Washington

A full plaza at the October 1 Grand Opening celebration

El Centro de la Raza celebrated the Grand Opening of their recently completed Plaza Roberto Maestas – Beloved Community on Saturday, October 1st. The 112 unit project serves a broad range of incomes in 1,
2, and 3 bedroom units adjacent to the Beacon Hill light rail station. Since 2011, Beacon has worked alongside El Centro de la Raza to realize their goal of providing a truly community inspired affordable housing and community space adjacent to their headquarters. The project includes new classroom space for El Centro de la Raza’s Jose Marti Child Development Center, a multi-cultural community center, retail space, office space, and a large public/private plaza.

The residential development cost was approximately $32 million (not including donated land); the project’s total development cost was approximately $45 million. Permanent and construction financing was provided by US Bank Community Development Corporation, the City of Seattle, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Washington Community Reinvestment Association, and a private capital campaign. Pre-development funding was provided by Enterprise Community Partners and Impact Capital.

PRM’s new classrooms for El Centro de la Raza’s Jose Marti Child Development Center

The much needed housing is already 100% leased with a 5-year wait list. Two of the three retail bays are leased to the Seattle Metropolitan Credit Unit and the locally owned café The Station. El Centro de la Raza’s Business Opportunity Center will provide business development courses and micro-lending programs to local small business owners. The project will be a model for community-inspired, transited-oriented development in Seattle.

In addition, Beacon Development Group is happy to announce that we are moving into the project’s office space. We are excited to move to a new home that illustrates our commitment to our work and community. Our move is planned for the end of November – stay tuned for an official moving announcement and our new contact details!

The Grand Opening was a community inspired event attended by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, City Council members and officials, and members of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. The ribbon cutting was followed by multicultural performances from local groups to celebrate the diversity of Seattle and the mission of the El Centro de la Raza.

It has been our privilege to work in collaboration with SMR Architects, Third Place Design Co-operative, 7Directions Architects, and Walsh Construction Co. We are proud to be part of a team working to expand opportunities for working families and individuals in Seattle. Congratulations to El Centro de la Raza on creating a truly “beloved community”!

PRM Reaches 50% Complete!

Posted by beacon on Tue, Jan 26, 2016 at 1:36 PM

Construction, Family Housing, Sustainable Buildings, Urban/Mixed Use, Washington

Panoramic view looking south into the central plaza of Plaza Roberto Maestas

Plaza Roberto Maestas (PRM), El Centro de la Raza’s flagship mixed-use affordable housing development in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle, recently reached 50% construction completion during the month of December 2015! With siding going up on the West Building and framing nearly complete on the East Building, the project is on track for completion by this summer.

View of the East Building at Festival Street (S Lander) & 17th Ave S

The $45 million project consists of two buildings including 112 apartments for low-income families and 25,000 square feet of commercial space including a child care center, community center, office space and neighborhood retail space. Both buildings are oriented around a central plaza for residents and community members to enjoy and are located directly across the street from the Beacon Hill Light Rail Station. Named for Roberto Maestas, founder of El Centro de la Raza, PRM realizes a decades-long dream of the organization to build new affordable housing and community space next to their schoolhouse headquarters.

Beacon has been working with El Centro de la Raza to realize the vision of Plaza Roberto Maestas since 2011, collaborating to structure and close the project’s financing, managing design development and permitting, and now overseeing construction. Funders for PRM include U.S. Bank, City of Seattle, State of Washington, Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Washington Community Reinvestment Association, and El Centro de la Raza’s capital campaign. PRM is designed by SMR Architects and the General Contractor is Walsh Construction, Co.

For more information on the project including monthly construction updates and capital campaign progress, please visit the Plaza Roberto Maestas website.

Ronald Commons Breaks Ground!

Posted by beacon on Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 9:41 AM

Family Housing, Special Needs, Sustainable Buildings, Urban/Mixed Use, Washington

Breaking Ground

On October 12^th, Compass Housing Alliance’s Compass at Ronald Commons project in Shoreline, WA broke ground and started construction. Ronald Commons is an affordable housing project with an on-site 12,000 square foot Integrated Service Center, including a food bank owned and operated by Hopelink. Slated for completion in late 2016, Ronald Commons will offer services and permanent, affordable housing to sixty formerly homeless and low-income households, including families and veterans. All apartments will be affordable to residents making between 30 percent and 50 percent of area median income.

Beacon is providing development services on the project. Other partners include Ronald United Methodist Church, Walsh Construction Co., SMR Architects, and Third Place Design Co-Operative.

View of Compass at Ronald Commons from Linden Ave.

“Compass Housing Alliance is very excited to be developing our first permanent housing facility in Shoreline to meet the need for affordable housing. Ronald Commons will be within a community where residents can access multiple supports on their path to stability as well as the schools, arts, and other amenities that make Shoreline such a wonderful place to live,” said Janet Pope, Compass Housing Alliance Executive Director.

The vision for Ronald Commons began five years ago with the Ronald United Methodist Church. Through a unique partnership between the Church, Compass Housing Alliance and Hopelink, the Ronald Commons project will be built adjacent to the Church, which will also complete a remodel that expands space for community partners and furthers its mission of community outreach.

Plaza View of Compass at Ronald Commons

To finance Ronald Commons, Compass Housing Alliance received a combination of funds and support from the City of Shoreline, King County Housing Finance Program, King County Veterans and Human Services Levy, WA State Housing Trust Fund, WA State Housing Finance Commission, Impact Capital, National Equity Fund, Bank of America, Home Depot Foundation, LISC/Met Life, McEachern Charitable Trust, WA State Department of Commerce, and the Sambataro Family Foundation.

Beacon is proud to be affiliated with Compass Housing Alliance and this exciting project!

A Commitment to Agricultural Worker Housing

Posted by beacon on Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 4:31 PM

Agricultural Workers, Family Housing, Project Openings, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Beacon has a long history of working with clients to develop permanent agricultural worker housing across Washington State, having developed over 950 apartments for these vital workers since 1999. As Washington continues to experience labor shortages during peak harvest times, according to the most recent annual 2013 Agricultural Workforce Report, the quality and stability of this kind of housing is absolutely essential to the health of our State’s economy.

Over the summer Beacon celebrated the opening of Varney Court, its latest agricultural worker project undertaken in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County (HACPFC). Located at the intersection of 4^th and Pearl in Pasco, WA, the project features 38 apartments spread across seven buildings around a central courtyard, community building and playground. The two-, three- and four-bedroom apartment layouts and child-focused amenities were specifically designed for families working in the local agricultural industry.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer these new apartments to families working in the region’s agricultural industry,” stated Andy Anderson, HACPFC’s Executive Director. “Far too often these families are forced to live in unacceptable conditions. Varney Court provides families a safe and decent place to live so their children can live happy, healthy lives in our great city.”

ZBA Architects designed the community and Walker Construction served as the general contractor. Beacon Development Group provided development services and Foster Pepper PLLC provided legal services. Other engineering and design team members were: AHBL, Coffman Engineers, Fulcrum Environmental Consulting, and Baer Testing. Cascade Management is providing property management services.

The total development cost was approximately $8.5 million. Funders included the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, National Equity Fund, Wells Fargo and Impact Capital. The City of Pasco also provided $50,000 of Community Development Block Grants to pay for street improvements along Pearl Street.

“This community exemplifies what the State and local jurisdictions can do when they work together to support affordable housing,” said Paul Purcell, President of Beacon Development Group. “In particular, the project wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the State legislature and the Housing Trust Fund.”

Beacon congratulates the HACPFC and the Pasco community on another successful project!

Crafting Unique Solutions to Affordable Housing Preservation

Posted by beacon on Fri, Aug 28, 2015 at 5:18 PM

Acquisition/Rehab, Family Housing, Occupied Rehabs, Senior Housing, Washington

Beacon has a long track record of working with clients to create more affordable housing, both in new construction and in the repositioning of older assets, thereby extending a building’s affordability and useful life. There are typically a host of financial tools available to do this in WA State – from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs) to State and local dollars such as the Seattle Housing Levy. But over the last several years many of these, especially at the State level, have been under constant threat.

Yet the need for affordable housing keeps growing. As a result, Beacon has worked hard on behalf of clients to turn over every rock for new funding. Two recent examples of projects that utilized groundbreaking “first of its kind” financing in Washington State are Yakima Family Housing in Yakima and Hilltop House in Seattle.

Yakima Family Housing with the Yakima Housing Authority (YHA) was completed in late 2014 and was the one of the first HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)-funded projects in WA State. Beacon and YHA worked together to secure the award from HUD and then packaged it with 9% LIHTCs to refinance and renovate 150 units of scattered-site public housing across the City of Yakima. Beacon also served as construction manager, working with YHA to oversee the complex process of tenant relocation and renovation, while ensuring minimal disruption to families and maintaining the tight timeline for LIHTC delivery. Partners on this project include Raymond James, Walker Construction Co., and ZBA Architecture. Kantor, Taylor, Nelson, Evatt & Decina PC provided legal services.

Hilltop House Apts., Hilltop House, Inc.

In May of this year Beacon also started construction on Hilltop House Apartments in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle. On behalf of this 124-unit non-profit-owned senior project, Beacon secured one of only twelve HUD SPRAC (Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contract) awards in the United States. Working with CBRE Group, Inc. through its FHA lending program, this unique financing was leveraged to retire existing HUD 202 and Flexible Subsidy loans so that a new permanent FHA 221(d)(4) loan could be used to extensively rehabilitate the property and prevent displacement of low-income seniors. In addition to CBRE, partners on this project include SMR Architects and Walsh Construction Company. Kantor, Taylor, Nelson, Evatt & Decina PC provided legal services.

According to Muriel Cashdollar, Board President of Hilltop House, “Beacon Development has worked tirelessly to help Hilltop House refinance our HUD mortgage, find an architect and a contractor, and manage the entire process. We could not have accomplished our goals without their significant help. Beacon’s experience has made our current construction possible!”

Together these projects represent nearly 275 affordable homes that would not have been preserved without these unique and creative approaches to affordable housing development. Together with our clients, Beacon strives to always secure the right financing for the needs of your project and your tenants.

PRM Reaches Important Construction Milestone

Posted by beacon on Tue, May 19, 2015 at 12:18 PM

Construction, Family Housing, Sustainable Buildings, Urban/Mixed Use, Washington

Concrete Footings on the East Building of PRM

As of today, all of the concrete footings for El Centro de la Raza’s Plaza Roberto Maestas (PRM) are poured! The Walsh Construction team has been fortunate to have only a few days of wet weather since work began on April 10^th. This has allowed for quick movement through demolition, excavation and concrete work. It also means we are through the dirt portion of the project with relatively few surprises – a great place to be early on in a large development like PRM!

PRM is an exciting new mixed-use transit oriented community featuring 112 units of affordable housing, a seven classroom expansion for El Centro’s Jose Marti Child Development Center, a multi-cultural community center, neighborhood retail/restaurant space, office space and a central plaza for micro-business, events and enjoyment of the surrounding campus and community. Most of the apartments at PRM will be two- or three-bedrooms to address the critical shortage of affordable family-sized rental housing in the City of Seattle.

Plaza Roberto Maestas will be complete in July 2016. Please visit the project website here for more information.

West Building Festival St Facade Web Edit

West Building Festival Street Facade – Future Neighborhood Retail/Restaurant Space(s)

Casa Kino Featured in Affordable Housing Finance Magazine

Posted by beacon on Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 1:52 PM

Agricultural Workers, Family Housing, Press, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Washington Developer Continues to Serve Farmworkers

By, Christine Serlin

Central Washington state has a robust agriculture industry, accounting for 20 percent to 25 percent of the region’s total economy.

Farmworkers are a critical part of that economy, handpicking crops, such as asparagus, cherries, and apples. But affordable housing can be scarce in rural areas, and these needed laborers are forced to live in overcrowded or unsafe conditions.

But Yakima, Wash.–based Catholic Charities Housing Services (CCHS) is helping to provide more safe, affordable housing opportunities for farmworkers one project at a time in the seven-county area where it works.

“The need for farmworker housing is acute throughout central Washington,” says CCHS director Bryan Ketcham.

To read the whole article click here.

HACPFC’s Fourth & Pearl Family Housing Breaks Ground

Posted by beacon on Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 2:56 PM

Agricultural Workers, Construction, Family Housing, Sustainable Buildings, Washington

Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County’s vacant Fourth & Pearl site before construction started

Over the summer the Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County (HACPFC) broke ground on their newest community located at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Pearl Street in Pasco, WA.

According to Andy Anderson, Executive Director of the HACPFC, “We are eager to bring quality affordable housing to Pasco. The new community, Fourth and Pearl Family Housing, is being developed on land owned by the Housing Authority for more than 60 years. It has stood vacant for more than 40 years, since the former World War II Navy housing was demolished. We are pleased to help the City of Pasco improve one of its gateways to downtown Pasco by building this new community.”

The new 40-unit community is designed to accommodate large families with 24 two-bedroom units, 12 three-bedroom units, and two four-bedroom units. Thirteen apartments will be rented to families who earn less than 40% of area median income (AMI) and twenty-five apartments will be rented to families who earn less than 50% of AMI.

The Housing Authority will market the project to agricultural workers employed in the Pasco community and surrounding areas. Far too often these hardworking families live in dilapidated and substandard housing.

ZBA Architects designed the project and Walker Construction is the general contractor. Beacon is providing development services. Cascade Management, Inc. will be the property manager.

Numerous public and private sources provided funding for the project. Wells Fargo is the construction lender. The Washington State Department of Commerce contributed $5 million from the state Housing Trust Fund. The Washington State Housing Finance Commission provided 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits that the National Equity Fund purchased in exchange for $2.9 million in equity. And the City of Pasco supplied $50,000 of Community Development Block Grant funds to support public infrastructure around the project.

As of September HACPFC was 40% complete on the construction of Fourth and Pearl Family Housing and is looking forward to opening in the spring of 2015!

Fourth & Pearl Family Housing – 40% Complete

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Washington Developer Continues to Serve Farmworkers