Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood will see the preservation of 358 units of workforce housing with the recent purchase announcement by local developer SRM. The $84 million deal was made possible through financing from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, Shelter America Group, Fannie Mae, and the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Located at 1000 8th Avenue, these two buildings span over 218,000 square feet and include a mix of studio and one- to two-bedroom apartments as well as below-grade parking.
Half of these units will be available for renters earning up to 60 percent of AMI while the remaining half are reserved for those earning up to 80 percent. According to SRM Affordable Housing Managing Principal Conor Hansen,”The impactful investment from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund paired with recycled bonds allowed us to meet investor expectations while ensuring long-term availability for lower-income residents.” This aligns perfectly with Amazon’s recent commitment towards affordable housing which now totals over $3.6 billion.
In addition,Hansen also noted that coordinating such a complex capital stack in today’s challenging real estate market is quite rare.”This project is exactly what our fund aims to support,” said Senthil Sankaran,the Managing Principal at Amazon Housing Equity Fund.The Mill at First Hill serves as an excellent exampleof how private-public partnerships can successfully preserve much-needed affordable housing in urban areas like Seattle.
