Five-fer

LAKE CITY, WASHINGTON - From now on, only salmon may have to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of Thornton Creek which runs through the Lake City neighborhood in northeast Seattle. Thanks to intensive development and, no surprise, lots of wet weather, the marshy area has often suffered flooding when the Creek's overflowed.

Sixteen public housing town houses owned by the Seattle Housing Authority were located on a marshy area of Lake City that was, the Authority thought, a "less than ideal" place to raise kids. "It didn't serve them well as a home because they had few places to play, and they were running around in the hallways," recalls former Authority assistant director Ron Oldham. "There wasn't enough community space to keep them occupied." After yet another severe flood, a decade ago the Authority decided to demolish the 16 town houses it had built in the 1960's and start all over again.

After extensive flood control and creek restoration work by, among others, the City and the Thornton Creek Alliance, the Authority was able to begin that work in June 2010 with a groundbreaking for Lake City Village, an 86-unit apartment complex that will more than triple the number of units for low-income families it operates in the community with additional housing for families with higher incomes. HUD's contributing $8 million in competitive Recovery Act funds and $10 million in a HOPE VI revitalization grant to support the project which is expected to generate more than _ construction jobs.

When completed in 2011, says current Authority director Tom Tierney, Lake City Village will be the "greenest affordable housing building" in the state. That's because it includes "the largest array of solar panels and collectors to be installed on any housing project in the entire region," enough, in fact, to cover an entire football field from goal line to goal line.

The result? "More than 20 percent of the hot water should be covered by the collectors. That is free energy that will reduce the carbon footprint of the building and reduce power bills, too," explains supplier Scott Kerklo of Columbia Hydronics.

But Lake City Village isn't just good for the residents who pay monthly utility bills. It's also good for Seattle's construction trades, hard hit hear by the economic downturn as in almost every city. From start to finish, the Lake City project should employ more than 350 people.

But Lake City might be best of all for kids. Gone are the days of playing in the hallway or having to stay indoors because the ground's so wet thanks to the inclusion of several "outdoor rooms" in the project design. It'll be good for the salmon, too. Indeed, a large tree that was cleared from the building site has found a new life as salmon habitat, part of the restoration of a nearby stream, thanks to a commitment from general contractor Andersen Construction.

"Lake City Village isn't a one-fer or a two-fer, but a five-fer," said HUD Regional Administrator Mary McBride. "It's helping a neighborhood expand its supply of affordable housing, address critical environmental concerns, reduce energy dependency, restore habitat and put folks back to work in difficult economic times. That's a win-win-win-win-win in which HUD is happy to be a partner."

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