Seattle-based affordable housing developer Great Expectations LLC recently broke ground on its 50-unit Betula House at 355 15th Ave., near Seattle University and Swedish’s Cherry Hill campus.
The four-story, 25,000-square-foot apartment building will consist mostly of efficiency units, plus around 14 one- and two-bedroom units, according to design plans filed with the city.
The project was originally permitted as a three-story structure under a different owner, according to the Daily Journal of Commerce. The developer acquired the site for $2.7 million in December and revised the project to add a fourth floor under recent changes to Seattle’s zoning code.
Work is expected to be complete in late 2022. The building will have no parking for cars, but 51 storage spaces for bikes. Public records indicate there will be retail space on the ground floor.
Ten of the units will be affordable under the city’s multifamily property tax exemption program.
Hybrid Architecture designed the project. Project partners listed Great Expectations’ website include Arboreal, a related brand with construction and apartment management arms, and Rush Cos.
Great Expectations acquires and develops low-income and workforce housing. The company focuses on privately funded affordable housing, which typically means simple, no-frills units.
“Our unit sizes are smaller and the amenities are more modest,” Benjamin Maritz, managing partner of Great Expectations recently told the Business Journal. “But when you look at surveys about what’s most important to a renter, cheap rent and location always top the list.”
The company looks to acquire buildings much like the ones it develops: with small units and located in core urban areas. It avoids rehabs that would cause rent hikes and displacement.
Recent purchases include the 105-unit Alder Flats at 220 10th Ave. on Capitol Hill and the 75-unit Portage Bay Flats at 4029 Seventh Ave. NE in the University District. Sales prices were not immediately available. The company is also about to close on another apartment building, Maritz said.
The company is also developing Cornus House, a 199-unit transit- oriented development set to break ground in March 2022 at 2502 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma, and Acer House, a 107-unit project at 2210 E Cherry St. in Seattle’s Central District slated to begin work in 2023.
Maritz serves on Seattle Mayor-elect Bruce Harrell’s transition team and will advise the new administration on transportation and land use policies that can promote growth and housing affordability.
Shawna De La Rosa / Reporter
Puget Sound Business Journal
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/11/23/great-expectations-breaks-ground-on-50-units.html
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