The YWCA Family Village at Issaquah, located at Highlands Drive NE and High Street NE, is an innovative, large-scale, environmentally progressive project designed to meet the Eastside’s needs for affordable housing and family services.
With 146 apartments for working families, child care and social services, the Family Village is leading the way for communities in this region and across the country to integrate affordable housing and family services into planned communities.
YWCA Family Village at Issaquah will be home to approximately 400 people – working families, people with disabilities and seniors who are seeking an affordable place to live, raise children, age comfortably, build fulfilling lives and contribute to their community.
The environmentally sustainable project will provide 146 apartments, ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom units.
The bulk of construction will occur in 2010 with families moving in the following year. The development will be a beautiful, seamless and comfortable “fit” within the existing master-planned community of Issaquah Highlands. Residential spaces, walkways and gathering areas will help foster a sense of place and neighborhood.
The YWCA is dedicated to strengthening the independence and stability of all community members.
• Parenting classes, job training, computer education and more.
• High-quality affordable child care with an estimated 150 spots for infants to school-aged children.
• Community meeting and outdoor gathering spaces, specifically requested by the Issaquah community, with safe pedestrian access to a King County transit hub.
• The City of Issaquah, through agreements with Port Blakely Communities which developed the Issaquah Highlands master-planned community, donated the parcel of land. The value of the land and in-kind support provided by the City exceeds $7 million.
• The YWCA is launching a $12 million capital campaign to help build and operate Family Village.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1 million.
• Eastside cities contributed $1.5 million through their housing coalition.
• King County provided $2.25 million through direct support and credit enhancement.
• Washington State Housing Finance Commission awarded $12.6 million in federal stimulus dollars and $4 million in a tax credit equity allocation.
• The State Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund joined in with $4 million.
• King County Housing Authority brings its ability to issue bonds and rent subsidies for qualified households.
For more information on the project and to keep up to date on the construction by subscribing to our RSS feed, please visit: www.ywcaworks.org
The YWCA’s mission is to advance the quality of life for women of all ages, races and faiths, and their families. In support of this mission, the YWCA provides services to meet critical needs, promote self-sufficiency, reduce violence,
eliminate racism and achieve equal opportunities for all people. These values are the foundation of the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah.
Three years ago, Aimee wouldn’t have considered needing affordable housing. She was living with her two children in Woodinville and sharing rent with a friend when a job loss forced her to move and find someplace else to live. She
wanted to live in the same area as her children’s school but affordable housing options were limited.
With help from the YWCA, Aimee and her kids were able to get settled again at the YWCA Family Village in Redmond. The stability of a roof overhead made it possible for Aimee to find a new, better paying job and get back on her feet. Today, she works as a medical assistant at Overlake Hospital and is renting a small house near her children’s school.
People like Aimee, and families like hers, will benefit from the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah: teachers, utility workers, postal workers, medical assistants and retail staff. Although their employment is vital to the local economy
and the services they provide make the quality of life better for everyone, salaries for these occupations range between $27,000 to $45,000 – well outside the living wage for a family – and makes it almost impossible for them to find homes near their jobs and forces them to commute long distances.
Construction of new affordable housing is more important than ever on the Eastside. The statistics are startling: 20,000 families are at risk of becoming homeless; meanwhile existing temporary and affordable housing capacity is
overburdened. The primary cause of homelessness on the Eastside is lack of affordable housing – higher than anywhere else in King County. The second most common cause is lack of a living wage, indicating a significant gap between housing prices and wages for many families. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Bellevue is $1,120. A person has to work 78 hours per week at $11.11 per hour to afford that. In fact, the living wage in Washington for a family of three is $23.39 an hour, nearly three times the minimum wage.
It is specifically families struggling with this gap between wages and the cost of housing that the YWCA hopes to welcome into the Family Village at Issaquah in 2011: working families, people with disabilities and seniors, seeking an affordable place to live, raise children, age comfortably, build fulfilling lives and contribute to their community.
Located directly east of the Highlands Drive Park and Ride, the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah will be made up of three buildings with 146 apartments ranging in size from studios to three-bedrooms. The YWCA is also bringing additional community amenities, including space for a licensed child care and community gathering spaces. There will be program space for parenting classes, computer education and financial planning to help strengthen the independence and stability of all residents. These family and community support services are a signature of the YWCA’s programming.
Financing efforts have already yielded substantial public and private commitments, including: $4 million from the State of Washington Housing Trust Fund, $1.5 million from King County’s Housing Finance Program and eastside city support through ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing). These efforts have been impacted by the turbulent financial markets and economy; however, the YWCA continues to move forward on its plans to start site work during 2009 on the parcel of land donated through the City of Issaquah. The bulk of construction is expected to occur in 2010 with families moving in the following year. More information on the YWCA can be found at www.ywcaworks.org.
The YWCA Family Village at Issaquah, located at Highlands Drive NE and High Street NE, is an innovative, large-scale, environmentally progressive project designed to meet the Eastside’s needs for affordable housing and family services.
