SEATTLE — Legislation to bring more affordable housing to Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood also calls for more density in the area.
The Land Use Committee discussed the plans during Wednesday’s afternoon meeting. The proposal aims to address the lack of housing in a community where some say they are being priced out.
Georgetown is home for Angielena Chamberlain.
"It is a very vibrant community,” said Chamberlain.
Chamberlain runs the Georgetown Arts and Cultural Centers and says for decades artists have been drawn to the neighborhood.
"It was really affordable back in the day, and we are trying to keep it affordable. But you know prices everywhere in the city of Seattle are going up, so we have lost some artists," Chamberlain said.
Ben Rankin works with Watershed Community Development and has a proposal to transform about ten acres of Georgetown that is in a commercial zone along Fourth Avenue South between South Fidalgo Street and South Dawson Street.
"It has a current 75-foot height limit and by going to 85 feet we can add another floor of affordable housing while staying at the height limit of all the surrounding properties," said Rankin.
The plan includes environmental commitments. The green building would have the ground floor as a commercial, light industrial, or art space, and the top floors would be affordable housing.
"It is going to be a hundred more apartments in the next five years,” said Rankin. "It is very much focused on people who need help to afford housing near where they work."
The legislation moved out of the land use committee. It's part of the process to see if Seattle will adopt the proposal. It will be discussed on Tuesday in front of the full council at city hall.
"People that have worked hard to restore Georgetown to what it is today,” said Chamberlain who wants the neighborhood to grow and hold on its history at the same time.
"Leave the history, build new where you can, and bring more artists to us,” she said.