News Release

Sept. 2, 2014 — White Center

The King County Housing Authority recently completed the sale of the final 54 lots for market-rate, single-family homes at Seola Gardens. The land purchase by a private developer marks the final phase of the Authority’s commitment to rebuild the former public housing complex – previously called Park Lake Homes II − into a vibrant mixed-income, master-planned community.

Additional land offerings are currently underway at Greenbridge, KCHA’s other White Center redevelopment. When the build-out for both sites is complete, there will be close to 500 new homeowners in the White Center community.  This housing will generate more than $2 million in new property tax revenues annually to support local services.

The redevelopment of Seola Gardens is part of a larger effort that KCHA has undertaken in White Center over the past decade to help revitalize the community. The Authority has invested more than $250 million in public and private funding to renovate existing housing, replace dilapidated World War II-era public housing with new, mixed-income rentals, construct community facilities and neighborhood retail, and expand services available to community residents.

These efforts have reduced the number of public housing units, created new workforce rental housing and significantly increased private homeownership. Community facilities include an elementary school, Educare and HeadStart early learning facilities, public library, Boys & Girls Club, and YWCA adult learning center.

The lots were purchased by Richmond American Homes, a national homebuilder active in 11 states, who also developed the first phase of homebuilding on the site. Forty-eight homes in the 54 homes in the first phase have already been sold and the remaining six are under contract.

“When construction is completed on these remaining lots, Seola Gardens will feature 108 attractive, well-built homes − terrific homeownership opportunities in White Center,” said KCHA Executive Director Stephen Norman. “As we’ve seen from the rapid sale of the first phase of homeownership, families are drawn to the location, value and lifestyle that Seola Gardens affords. These homes reflect and support the emergence of White Center as a vibrant and diverse community a stone’s throw from downtown Seattle.”

Construction on the final 54 homes will start in the first quarter of 2015. Four different floor plans will be offered with sizes ranging from approximately 1,800 to 2,500 square feet and with pricing expected in the mid- to upper-$300,000s. All the new homes  meet environmental and efficiency standards. A model home is open to the public.

Seola Gardens, which has won numerous design awards, is a Three-Star Built Green™ community featuring responsible site and water management, lower operating costs through installation of energy-efficient equipment and systems, and the use of sustainable building materials.

The original Park Lake Homes II site was developed during World War II with 169 units of public housing. When the final 54 single-family homes are completed, the 30-acre site will include a total of 285 units: 108 single-family for-sale homes, 65 affordable senior apartments and 112 public housing units for families. In addition to housing, Seola Gardens includes a community center, public art installations, raised garden beds, a Head Start program, and seven public parks. It sits adjacent to Lakewood Park and the Technology Access Foundation.

About KCHA

KCHA, an independent municipal corporation established under state law, assists more than 18,000 households in the Seattle metropolitan region on a daily basis.  The Authority administers rental housing assistance, develops and manages affordable housing, and works closely with community stakeholders to address local priorities such as ending homelessness, improving educational outcomes for the region’s low-income youth and assuring that disabled and elderly households can live with dignity.