The Olympia City Council has approved a petition to vacate the alley referred to as the old Griswold building off Fourth Avenue between Adams and Franklin Streets that paves the way for a project to provide 50 affordable housing for low-income individuals.
At Tuesday's city council meeting, Olympia Surveyor Christina Horton of Public Works Engineering said the area to be vacated is approximately 10 feet wide and 120 feet long. She said the vacation request is associated with the development application. The development aims to utilize the vacated alley space for a lobby area and open airspace.
"The alley vacation makes this low-income housing project more feasible,” said Horton.
Mayor Cheryl Selby said the city has been working for over ten years to resolve issues concerning the development of the former Griswold property, which was damaged by fire in 2004 and remained vacant until the city purchased it in 2016.
The city entered into a public-private partnership to redevelop the site. The building was demolished in 2022 to make way for a new mixed-use development.
Darian Lightfoot, director of Housing Homeless Response, said the project consists of approximately 50 studio and one-bedroom apartments and would receive the 12-year Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE), which requires a portion of the units to rent to individuals who earn up to 115% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
According to Lightfoot, they have negotiated with the developer, Olympia Urban II, to increase the number of affordable units. As a result, 60% of the units will be available to renters who qualify at from 60% to 80% of AMI for the entire exemption duration.
"Adding 50 units with half having affordable units is a big win for our housing needs,” said Lightfoot.
To address concerns about the duration of affordability, City Attorney Mark Barber explained that the negotiation includes gradually reducing the number of affordable units after 12 years, adding that it was agreed that the affordable units could be reduced by about 50% for the next three years of a 20-year restrictive covenant.
The city attorney added that after the initial 12 years, 30% of the total housing units on the property will serve low-income individuals, while the remaining 70% can be leased at the market rate.
Both parties agreed to reduce the restrictions gradually. For the remaining five years of the covenant, approximately 20% of the total housing units on the property will be designated for low-income individuals with incomes at or below 80% AMI.
"The idea behind this was to try to get as long a period as we possibly could of low-income housing," Barber said, noting that this is the first time the city negotiated with a for-profit developer for low-income housing development.
Mayor Cheryl Selby opened the public hearing for the alley vacation petition. Only one community member participated in the public process.
Peter Connelly, a musician, opposed the project. He expressed his concerns about the possible displacements of local musicians, who could not do rehearsals if residential housing was next door.
Connelly said the Dumpster Values and No Ping Skate Shop building, located right next to the planned project, is the only remaining downtown rehearsal space for musicians like him.
"It provides a livelihood for most of the downtown businesses open after 6 p.m,” Connelly added. “I just think it would be devastating for all those involved."
"I don't see when this will stop where Olympia Urban puts another eyesore into downtown that we don't need…destroying a lot of the culture. That is the reason why people move to Olympia," Connelly commented.
Councilmember Dani Madrone agreed with Connelly that the scene downtown is one of the reasons many people move to the city.
Madrone also acknowledged that one of the biggest challenges facing Olympia is finding ways to accommodate and share space among its residents.
"If we don't address the housing crisis, it becomes more expensive,” Madrone said. “People get displaced."
Olympia City Manager Jay Burney briefly discussed the Armory space, the Cultural Access Program, and the available funds to help community members find affordable spaces.
Burney told Connelly that he would connect him to these programs.
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BobJacobs
It's very good to see the city actually mention that the requirement for low-income units is TEMPORARY .
The 12-year multi-family property tax exemptions carry with them a time-limited and unit-limited restriction. In this case the city has negotiated for more than the legal minimum, and that is good.
But considering the limits on required low-income units, compared with the life of the investment for the owners, it doesn't look like a great deal.
We need PERMANENT low-income housing.
Bob Jacobs
Thursday, July 13, 2023 Report this
JohnPaget
There was no deliberation / discussion at council meeting about the alley vacation, pros and cons of permanently losing the alley.
Has this been examined and discussed at previous meetings? Why is the alley vacation necessary for this project? Other buildings have been built downtown without taking an alley. Can we have this new building AND keep the city alley? Is it really "alley" or nothing?
Thursday, July 13, 2023 Report this
Larry Dzieza
Good to see that our tax dollars will have some social benefit! Almost all of the Olympia tax shifts (that's right, its not really an exemption because the "lost" tax revenue is shifted to the remaining Olympia tax payers) have been for market rate 8-year exemptions.
What would be really better is if Olympia City Council decided to use the Olympia area median income rather than the Thurston Couny median. Olympia residents have about a 17% lower AMI than the county. In 2021, Thurston's was $81,501 ($39.18 an hour for someone with a full time job) while Olympia's AMI was $67,975.
Why the city doesn't set it at the City's AMI defies plausible explanation as their usual response is we always have. Yet, the Thurston Regional Planning Council has the numbers readily available.
Nevertheless, at least my increased property tax for this exemption will do some good in making housing more affordable.
Thursday, July 13, 2023 Report this
longtimeresident
I will echo Bob Jacobs: "WE NEED PERMANENT LOW-INCOME HOUSING".
Thursday, July 13, 2023 Report this