OneRedmond's housing initiative will help middle-income residents

Internet

"Middle-income residents are increasingly being priced out of communities in the greater Puget Sound area.

According to a recent report by "Challenge Seattle," home prices have risen nearly 60 percent in the past decade, three times the national growth rate. Housing prices are seven times the median income in King County, and nearly 40 percent of middle income households find themselves cost burdened by housing. The result is that a middle income household can no longer afford to rent, let alone buy, a home in most of the county’s zip codes. This, in turn, has implications for a community’s quality of life, workforce retention and attraction and overall vitality.

OneRedmond has responded to these challenges by launching a "Workforce Housing" initiative that has a goal of securing 1,000 units of workforce housing in Redmond in five years.

“Workforce housing” is housing that middle-income households could typically afford when earning 60–120 percent of the region’s median household income of $89,700 (i.e., $53,800 – $107,600). This initiative emphasizes taking intentional action to preserve existing workforce housing and increase the availability of new workforce housing by increasing opportunities for land for housing construction; streamlining regulatory and other requirements that impact housing construction costs, and supporting creation of financing mechanisms to support workforce housing options."

Source: Redmond Council Study Session memo, 2/26/19