Seattle

Urban Development InstituteSamuel Assefa, Director Vancouver, BC I May 16, 2019

Managing growth, affordability & livability

Seattle

Seattle’s Boom & Bust

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2035

People Jobs

120,000 more people by 2035(70,000 units of housing)

115,000 more jobs by 2035

Today Seattle is Growing Fast

• 20% of anticipated 20-year employment in just one year

• 22% of anticipated housing growth in first 2 years

2018 Urban Growth Monitoring

Today Seattle is Growing Fast

7

Today Seattle is Growing FastOur fastest growing neighborhoods are clustered around Downtow

Today Seattle is Growing Fast

Downtown• 82,000 residents• 301,000 jobs• $1.6 billion in retail sale

& $4.8B in construction activity in 2018

Over 32,000 housing units under construction or in predevelopment!

4,355

7,845

6,569

3,9124,603

8,3137,800

8,845

11,905 11,576 12,100

8,353

1,519

0

5000

10000

15000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Net New Units Demo

Residential units reported in the year the construction permit was issued(69,000 gross units in last 7 years)

Today Seattle is Growing Fast

Permit Intake Value & Volume

2018Permit Count: 11,046 Intake Value: $4.6 billion Issuance Value: $3.9 billion

2017Permit Count: 10,459 Intake Value: $4.3 billion Issuance Value: $5.1 billion

Today Seattle is Growing Fast

What’s Driving Seattle’s Growth?

2005 - 2016

Source: VIA Architecture

In permitting &development

Potential in the near future

Source: VIA Architecture

2005 - 2016

More than 45,000 Seattle households pay more than half of their income on housing.

Approx. 11,600 individuals experience homelessness, 47% of which are unsheltered.

Average rent in Seattle increased 35-37% in last 5years

Seattle is not Growing Affordably

Seattle is not Growing Affordably

A 5% average rent increase adds 258people to Seattle’s homeless population

Redlining (1936 – 1960s) Current Racial Distribution

Legacy of Racism

Seattle is not Growing Equitably

Ballard/Sunset Hills

"No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic Race."

Source: UW Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project

Seattle is not Growing Equitably

Legacy of Racism

Queen Anne Neighborhood

"No person or persons of Asiatic, African or Negro blood, lineage, or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property."Source: UW Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project

Legacy of Racism

Seattle is not Growing Equitably

14%

19%

23%

36%

55%

64%

73%

62%

57%

53%

41%

31%

23%

16%

24%

24%

24%

23%

14%

13%

11%

2019**

2014*

2010

2000

1990

1980

1970

Black Non-Hispanic White Other

Ethnicity Percentage in the Central District

Seattle is not Growing Equitably

Washington State Growth Management Act

Managing Seattle’s Growth

• Urban Growth Boundaries• Urban Village & Center Strategy• Grow around existing or planned

infrastructure

1994 Comprehensive Plan

18% of land target for 75% of projected growth

Managing Seattle’s Growth

2016 Update Primary themes• Affordability• Race and Social Equity• Livability & Sustainability

Managing Seattle’s Growth

30,000 new market-rate homes

20,000 affordable homes

• Incentives for family-sized housing

• Reduce permitting barriers

• More efficient construction methods

• Rent- and income-restricted homes

• Funding programs primarily for ≤ 60% AMI

• About 3x current production

Growth with Affordability

Voluntary Incentive Zoning for affordable housing (IZ)

Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA)

Growth with AffordabilityMandatory Housing Affordability

Mandatory Housing Affordability• All new development must build or pay for affordable housing• Provides additional development capacity to partially offset the cost of

these requirements • Increases housing choices

Growth with Affordability

Displacement Index• Vulnerability• Amenities• Development capacity &

rentAccess to Opportunity Index• Education• Economic Opportunity• Transit Access• Civic Infrastructure

Displacement Risk Index Access to Opportunity Index

Growth with Equity

• Distribute the benefits of growth equitably

• Prioritize marginalized populations• Race and social equity lens• Address displacement• Increase opportunities for low-

income households

Equitable Development Initiative

Growth with Equity

Move Seattle Levy - $930 Million

Growth with Livability

Growth with LivabilitySound Transit Levy - $54 Billion

• West Seattle/Ballard: 14 new stations by 2035

• Opportunities for equitable transit-oriented development

• Housing and other changes near future stations

Growth with LivabilitySound Transit Levy - $54 Billion

Growth with Livability Demolishing the Viaduct

Growth with LivabilityDemolishing the Viaduct

OVERLOOK WALKPIKE PLACE MARKET WATERFRONT ENTRANCE

Growth with Livability Lidding I-5

Renderings by Studio 216 for Lid I-5

• $1.7 billion project • 1.2 million sq. ft. of

new space• 409-unit residential tower • 16-story office tower• $83 million public benefit

Growth with LivabilityPublic/Private Partnership –

Convention Center Expansion

• $900 million Seattle Center Arena rebuild• $100 million Space Needle renovation• Seattle Opera facilities improvements• Uptown neighborhood rezone• Light rail transit station

Growth with LivabilityPublic/Private Partnership –Seattle Center Investments

Growth with Livability

• Established in 1958, DSA is a nonprofit membership organization

• Manages programs focused on the public realm

• Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) services a 285-block area with cleaning, programming, hospitality/safety and homelessness outreach

Public/Private Partnership –Seattle Center Investments

Seattle

Urban Development InstituteSamuel Assefa, Director Vancouver, BC I May 16, 2019