New Hope VI Award for White Center
An update on a story originally published on White Center Now on 9/20:
As you know, in June KCHA submitted an application for $20 million in HOPE VI funds to help support the revitalization of the Park Lake Homes II (PLH II) public housing community. The plan calls for the demolition of the 165 existing public housing units and the redevelopment of the site as housing for 306 families. This housing would include the replacement of all 165 public housing units on-site, as well as 12 additional rental units, 17 Habitat for Humanity affordable homeownership units, and 112 market rate homeownership units. There would be several playgrounds, open space and 6,500 square feet of community center space on the ground floor of a residential building in the center of the site. Plans for the community space – a resource sorely lacking on the site – currently include a large community room, the Neighborhood Networks Center, office and classroom space for service providers, and a satellite office for the King County police. The existing Head Start facility would remain in its present location.
The HOPE VI program has become very competitive on the national level. Many applicants apply for two or three years in a row before their projects are funded. In the 2008 funding round, PLH II competed with 23 other projects vying for the six awards that were made.
I’m very pleased to announce that KCHA has been informed by Senator Murray’s office that PLH II was awarded the $20 million grant for which we applied. Our success is attributable to a number of factors. First is the strong support and advocacy of KCHA by Senator Murray’s office. She has been a tireless ally on every issue involving affordable housing. Second, the quality of the application, including the evidence of resident and community support and a solid Community Support Services program with strong partners, was key to our success in receiving funding as a first-time applicant. And last, but by no means least, KCHA’s accomplishments at Greenbridge under the first HOPE VI grant certainly strengthened the application.
Clearly, receipt of the HOPE VI grant is a critical first step, but now the real work begins! The proposed development schedule calls for relocation of the residents to be completed over the coming year and for construction to begin in the spring of 2010. We will also hold a series of community meetings in the next few months as the more detailed project planning gets underway. You will be notified of these meetings and I urge you to attend and continue your participation in the project’s planning and implementation. Thank you for all your contributions to our success to date and we look forward to your continued support of the project and participation in its success.
If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Nikki Parrott, the project manager (nikkip@kcha.org, 206.574.1222).
Stephen Norman| Executive Director| King County Housing Authority | 600 Andover Park W., Seattle, WA 98188 | Office: 206-574-1190 | Fax: 206-574-1189
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October 10th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Not to beat a dead horse but if $20,000,000 can build over 300 homes for families that would serve perhaps 800 people dosn’t it now seem ridiculosly insane that $20,000,000 can only serve 150 kids at greenbridge??? Come on, am I the only one that has an issue with this?