State Representative Nicole Macri speaking at
Dockside Apartments open house
Originally published in DJC. Reprinted with permission.
In June, the Low Income Housing Institute got the keys and officially took over ownership of the Dockside Apartments at 6860 E. Green Lake Way N.
The new six-story building was built by developer Blueprint and was originally to be market-rate apartments. Now the property's 93 units will be used to house the formerly homeless and individuals working at low wages.
Seventy units will be permanent supportive housing and the rest are affordable studios. All units are either classic studios or studio-lofts. Some of the affordable apartment units have private balconies with unobstructed views of the lake.
On July 28, LIHI hosted an open day at the property to give members of the Green Lake community a chance to see the building and learn more about their new neighbors. “We are looking forward to getting to know our new neighbors and for the residents and the community to get to know each other,” Sharon Lee, executive director at LIHI, said.
One of those neighbors is The Hearthstone, a retirement community located a few blocks from Dockside. Many of its residents attended the event. “We are very supportive of this project as it really aligns with our foundational values of caring, safeguarding and nurturing all people,” a representative from Hearthstone told the DJC. They also shared that Hearthstone, which is one of the biggest employers in the area, is looking forward to potentially hiring Dockside residents.
Other speakers included Lee, District 6 Seattle City councilmember Dan Strauss, state Senator David Frockt, state Rep. Nicole Macri and Kelly Semple, president of the Green Lake Chamber of Commerce. Attendees got to tour the property and one of the units, as well as the building's rooftop deck. “It was a really exciting and well attended event,” Josh Castle, director of community engagement at LIHI, said. “Lots of neighbors came out to see the project.”
Dockside sits on the former location of Spud Fish & Chips. Spud will be reopening in the property in an approximately 1,400-square-foot ground-level space this winter.
LIHI received a certificate of occupancy for Dockside on June 22, but residents are yet to move in. Lee said LIHI is completing some final modifications and is still furnishing some of the permanent supportive housing units. Lee said they are hoping to move residents in soon but was not able to give a firm date.
Funding for the acquisition of Dockside came from the city of Seattle Office of Housing, the National Equity Fund and JumpStart Seattle, the progressive payroll tax.
“We are grateful to the city of Seattle Office of Housing and the National Equity Fund for making the purchase of Dockside Apartments possible. We continue to strive toward the goal of ending homelessness for thousands more people by rapidly acquiring and converting new buildings into affordable housing. This allows us to provide permanent housing quickly for individuals, couples, and families in need,” Lee added.
LIHI recently announced that two more of its projects have been awarded JumpStart funds from the Office of Housing. These are MLK Mixed Use in Othello and Jensen Block rehab in South Lake Union. LIHI also helped secure JumpStart funding for New Hope Family Housing with New Hope Community Development Institute in the Central District and Goldfinch Apartments with Chief Seattle Club on Aurora.\