King County Adopts Ordinance for Development of Affordable Housing Project at Metro Northgate Site

We would like to congratulate client King County on accomplishment of a major milestone in development of a transit-oriented project to include 232 affordable housing units on King County Metro-owned property in the Northgate neighborhood of Seattle. The site is directly adjacent to Metro’s Northgate Transit Center as well as the new Sound Transit Northgate Link light rail station, which began offering service on October 2. All units will be affordable to households earning 60% or less of the area median income. The development will include a mix of unit sizes and configurations, “system-connected” units, and a 10,000-square-foot childcare center.

A Stoel Rives team represented King County Metro in the nearly two-year effort to structure and negotiate a complex development agreement, long-term ground lease, and ancillary easements and agreements for the project. The project will be developed by nonprofit affordable housing developers BRIDGE Housing Corporation and Community Roots Housing. On November 23, 2021, the Metropolitan King County Council unanimously approved an ordinance to authorize the transaction.

The Stoel Rives team was led by real estate partner Beth Clark and included attorneys John Fandel and Joe McCarthy, and practice assistant Becky Rogers.

For more on the project, see this King County news item.