By Jack Stubbs
On Wednesday, September 12th, an apartment property in Seattle changed hands between two local non-profits for $7.4 million, or approximately $77,083 per unit, according to public records filed with King County. Seattle-based Non-profit affordable housing developer Bellwether Housing acquired the property from the Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center also based in Seattle.
Bellwether Housing did not respond to calls for comment about the transaction in time for the publishing of this story.
The 5-story Views at Madison Apartments, located at 1615 19th Ave., was built in 2003 and contains 96 units, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The complex offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units that range from 640 to 1,285 square feet, according to the property’s web site. The property offers views of Mt. Baker, and also includes covered parking and easy access to transportation routes.
The asset is roughly five blocks from Seattle’s active Pike/Pine corridor in Capitol Hill and is also approximately two miles southeast of South Lake Union. Additionally, the property is about 1.5 miles from downtown Seattle via E Madison St. and less than one mile from Cal Anderson Park.
Founded in 1980, Bellwether Housing is the largest non-profit affordable housing provider in Seattle, according to the organization’s web site, and manages a portfolio of 30 properties comprising 1,900 apartment units throughout the city. Since Bellwether’s founding, it has developed more than 11,000 homes throughout the state of Washington and housed 292,600 people.
Some of Bellwether’s existing housing developments in the city include the 71-unit Anchor Flats Apartments in South Lake Union; the 23-unit Annapolis Apartments in Capitol Hill; and the 7-story, 133-unit Arbora Court Apartments in the University District, for which Bellwether recently celebrated the official opening in early May 2018.
Bellwether also has plans in the works for 6600 Roosevelt in Seattle, which has an anticipated opening of Fall 2021 near the underway Roosevelt Light Rail Station. Bellwether and Mercy Housing Northwest are partnering on the project, which will bring 245 new affordable homes to low-income families and individuals in the north Seattle neighborhood.
Earlier this year, Bellwether Housing received positive news about another of its projects in the pipeline. In late January 2018, the 156-unit Rainier Avenue Apartments located at 7930 Rainier Ave S. in the Rainier Valley, was approved at an Early Design Guidance meeting. The project, designed by SMR Architects, will also include 133 parking stalls, 8,600 square feet of childcare space and 2,800 square feet of non-profit office space.
