After the $2.4 million grant for Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association‘s Strength of Place Village project was announced earlier this week (WSB report here), we asked DNDA executive director Derek Birnie for more details. Today, we have them, starting with this early design view of the future complex:

He also provided WSB with a detailed press release. While this project will be in White Center (map), it’s noteworthy for West Seattle not just because that community continues to grow and change and may eventually be part of our city, but also because DNDA is based in WS (where it’s already been at the heart of transformational projects such as the Youngstown Arts Center and West Seattle Community Resource Center). Here are the Strength of Place Village details:
DNDA Receives Funding for Affordable Housing in White Center
Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) this week was awarded a $2.4 million loan by King County to construct 30 units of affordable housing in the White Center area. The complex, to be called Strength of Place Village, will be located at the corner of SW 100th Street and 13th Avenue SW. It will provide housing for families earning less than 60% of the area median income, including some families who are transitioning from homelessness.
The project is part of the Strength of Place Initiative, a joint effort of the White Center Community Development Association and DNDA. The aim of the Initiative is to maintain the income diversity of White Center as it develops.
Recent trends indicate that White Center is in the early phases of a building boom similar to that witnessed in the neighborhoods to its north over the past few years. It is currently a haven for low income and immigrant families, and has an ethnically diverse business community.
A number of foundations and public and private agencies, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Technology Access Foundation and the King County Housing Authority, have invested tens of millions of dollars in facilities and programs to support White Center’s low income families. The Strength of Place Initiative will provide the affordable housing to ensure that White Center families can stay in the community and continue to benefit from these long term investments.
The project received support from a broad range of community members and institutions. “The creation of new affordable housing will help White Center residents stay in the community. The businesses will also benefit from new housing close to downtown, which will bring new customers into the downtown core,†wrote White Center Chamber of Commerce Manager Sigrid Wilson. White Center Early Learning Initiative Executive Director John Bankcroft wrote, “A key element to improving family stability, so that children can thrive, is to provide families with housing they can afford.â€
The King County funding, provided by the King County Housing Finance Program, will be a portion of a project budget that will also include state and federal funds. These funds are expected to be secured in fall 2008, and the project will be constructed beginning in 2009.
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