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5270
Rainier Avenue South
a supportive
housing project in
development
The Downtown Emergency
Service Center (DESC) is working on a new housing development to be
built in the Columbia City/Hillman City neighborhood at 5270
Rainier
Avenue South,
at 42nd
Avenue South.
The four-story building will
provide permanent supportive housing for homeless men and women, many
who are disabled by mental illness. DESC will own and manage
the project, with development assistance from Common Ground.
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A Roof Over Every Bed in King
County: Our Community's Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness
estimates
over 5,000
homeless single
adults in King County every
night,
nearly
half of whom are chronically homeless.
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Of
all the
people found homeless in the city of Seattle on
the annual One
Night Count of January 27, 2006, 1,618
had no indoor shelter of any kind -- they were found surviving outdoors.
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Over
the
course of the year, over 4,000
men and women will spend a night in a DESC shelter.
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This building will
represent a $15
million and 50+ year
investment in new housing in the Hillman City neighborhood and help our most
vulnerable homeless
neighbors off the streets and into a safe, stable environment.
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Frequently
Asked Questions
About
the
people who will live there:
About the
building's development:
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About the
people who will live there:
Who
will live there?
Rainier Housing will house
people with serious mental illness and long histories of living in
DESC's emergency shelters.
Tenant
characteristics:
On average, tenants will be in their early
to mid 40s. Current tenants in other DESC buildings range in
age from 20 to 88. We anticipate about 35-50% will be women. They will
be a racially diverse mix of people – about half
will be people of color, and approximately 5% will be
non-English speakers.
Like many Seattleites, people will come from all
over. About a third will likely be born and raised in
Washington State – approximately 18% here in
Seattle. The rest will come from around the region, the
country or from other countries. Most have lived in Seattle
for five years or more.
Tenants and mental illness:
The overwhelming majority of the men and women living in the building
will be diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder or
schizophrenia. The symptoms of these serious and chronic
disabilities often cause individuals to isolate in their
apartments. Additionally, many people with serious mental
illnesses are aware of the stigma that follows them, and feel more
comfortable in the safety of their own homes.
DESC addresses the tendency to isolate in a variety of ways.
We have private community spaces both inside and outside the building
where tenants can feel more comfortable than being in public. Each
resident will have two primary staff people – one within the
building and an additional case manager (either at DESC or another
mental health agency) with whom he or she can call on and who check in
on clients
regularly.
Building staff serve at least one meal a day in the
community dining room, which ensures tenants have access to healthy
food and an opportunity to interact with staff, other tenants and
volunteers. We also provide monthly activities such as
“pizza and a video night”, bingo parties, ping pong
tournaments, etc. Staff organize periodic field trips to
museums, state parks and other low-cost attractions, and take
interested tenants on weekly trips to the supermarket or other retail
household stores.
Similar to all of us, people who live in DESC housing have things to do
during the day. They may have appointments around town with
service providers, doctors, etc; they walk or take the bus to the
grocery store; they meet friends for conversation.
People with serious mental illness sometimes exhibit behaviors that are
socially unusual, but not threatening. Just like many
neighbors, they have their quirks and eccentricities, but they
have the same aspirations as most people – they
want safety and security for themselves and the people they care about,
and they want to be considered responsible neighbors.
Please link to the
following stories of two current tenants in DESC housing who live
with serious mental illnesses: |
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But,
aren't these people dangerous?
No. Assuming that homeless or mentally ill people are dangerous is just
a stereotype. There is no statistical evidence that mentally ill people
are more dangerous than the general population. A number of
people who have been homeless have some history of arrests and
convictions. Offenses of status crimes such as public
urination, public trespassing or other minor misdemeanors are common.
DESC runs a criminal background check on all potential tenants prior to
offering an apartment. DESC
has
pledged to the community to
screen out anyone convicted of a violent felony, including sex
offenders.
Some
opponents to this project have cited studies about the criminality of
homeless individuals. These studies are based on the actions
of
people while they are homeless. Rainier Housing will
bring stable housing to the neighborhood,
and there is no known
evidence that formerly homeless people degrade the neighborhoods they
move into.
More often, homeless people disabled by mental illness and/or chemical
dependency are the victims of violent street predators and other
criminals, who consider them to be easy targets. Providing stable
housing for people with adequate staff support greatly decreases the
opportunities for mentally ill people to be
preyed upon.
Will
the project be a magnet for homeless people already in the area?
No. This project will not be a shelter, and it will not be a drop-in
center. This project will only serve people currently living in the
building and will have controlled access to limit visitors and hold
visitors accountable for their behavior.
Will
this project bring other homeless people into my neighborhood?
The goal of this project is to provide stable, secure housing for
formerly homeless people. It is not a shelter – it is an
apartment building. This project will have a visitor policy
to be strictly enforced by staff that will limit the number of people
visiting the building.
How
long will tenants be allowed to stay?
All units in the project are permanent housing, and the length of
residency will not be limited. In general, people are more secure
knowing they will not be forced to leave after a specific period of
time. Like any rental housing, tenants will have leases. They
will be
required to pay 30% of their income as rent.
The wraparound services offered in the building will help tenants
stabilize and keep their housing for a longer period of time than in a
conventional apartment building where no specialized support is
offered.
Will
the building become a haven for drug dealing?
No. DESC does not tolerate dealing activity in any of our housing,
period. Our tenants share the range of substance use patterns that are
seen among the general population of Seattle and King County, most
without any adverse behavioral consequence.
Like many people, our tenants drink
too much coffee, smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. Others
use illegal substances, but most with little effect on those around
them. People living in DESC's Rainier Housing will
not have histories of acting out as a result of substance use.
Will
there be supervision for tenants?
Yes. An important component of the project will be high staffing
levels, allowing for close supervision at all times -- 24
hours a day, seven days a week. DESC staff will provide a
supportive living environment and enable residents to stabilize their
living situations and achieve long-term residency.
Case managers from
DESC’s licensed mental health program will also have offices
in the building and case management
services are available for all residents.
During the day, we anticipate having no less than five staff
in the building. There will be a minimum of two staff members
providing building security and supervision at night, when 90-95% of
the residents are asleep.
The "support" in supportive
housing
Key to the success of DESC’s housing programs is having
24-hour
on-site staff. DESC provides housing for our community's most
disabled and vulnerable homeless people. This proposed
project
will have intensive staffing
and supervision similar to other DESC projects.
The
"support" in DESC buildings can be compared to other accommodations we
are more accustomed to seeing everyday. For people with long
histories
of homelessness and serious mental illness, community spaces, 24-hour
staffing and other services are similar to having wheelchair ramps for
people who can't walk up stairs. It's not a social service
program --
it's home, but with the support residents need to succeed in living as
independently as possible.
DESC
has been the recipient of national
awards for
excellence in its
implementation and operation of supportive housing for special-needs
homeless adults, and for property and asset management of its housing.
How
do you deal with bad behaviors?
DESC incorporates a Resident
Code of Conduct into the tenant
lease
which specifies prohibited behavior in and outside the
building.
Violations of these rules prompt appropriate interventions
and
can lead to eviction.
When tenants exhibit problematic behaviors, DESC uses a therapeutic
combination of incentives and consequences to change behavior. One such
tool is the use of 10-day notices to comply or vacate/evict. We have
found that
for people who know well what it is like to be homeless, the risk of
losing housing is a strong motivator to change behavior.
On rare occassions, DESC
has moved people out of housing in order to maintain the safety of
other residents, staff and neighbors. More commonly,
tenants will prompt their own move out, for a variety of
reasons. Our annual turnover rate is about 11% -- far below
the average for low-income or market rate housing, which have seen
turnover rates of 26%, according to Dupre
& Scott.
What
kind of rules do you have in place to ensure neighborhood safety?
DESC is committed to being good neighbors to all who live and work in
the area. We will talk with residents about this expectation
at length, both when they move in and throughout their tenancy here,
and we write it into their lease agreements.
Our experience
has shown that tenants are very receptive to this message. After long
periods of living on the street, they want to
be good neighbors because they value their housing. It is
important to us that
staff and tenants contribute to the health and stability of the
neighborhood and that we are available to neighbors as needed, to
answer questions or hear concerns.
Front desk staff continuously monitor security cameras spread
throughout the interior and exterior of the building. Staff
walk the perimeter of the building several times throughout the day and
night to check that doors are secure and perform basic building
security, and be visible and available to neighbors as needed.
Unlike many
other property
managers, DESC makes responding to
neighbors' concerns a top priority. Neighbors are
encouraged to
call at
any time to request a staff person respond to an issue involving a
building tenant's behavior in the neighborhood. Staff are
prepared to respond immediately whenever possible to help; if the
person in question is not a resident of the project our staff will
still try to help them get whatever resources they may need.
Lease agreements with all tenants include prohibitions against certain
behaviors in the neighborhood including panhandling, drinking,
loitering, littering, or other uncivil behaviors.
The visitor policy limits the number and frequency of visitors
a resident may have. It also requires all visitors to leave
their I.D. at the front desk while in the building, and be escorted by
the resident they are visiting at all times. Overnight visits
are limited. Staff are empowered to prohibit
non-residents from entering the building. Staff may also
restrict the visitors of specific residents to ensure their safety and
the safety of others in the building.
Please link to the following
sample
documents used in other DESC apartment
buildings:
The building manager will regularly attend neighborhood association
meetings as a representative of the project.
About the
building's development:
How
many apartments will there be?
In February 2007, DESC announced that Rainier Housing will have 50
studio units. Click
here for more information.
The current zoning regulations for the site are a result of the process
for the current neighborhood
plan adopted in 1999, when neighbors gave
thoughtful input into their vision for the future of their
neighborhood. During that time, the block of the 5270 Rainier
Ave site was looked at in particular, and zoning regulations were
changed – lowering height restrictions to the
current level and eliminating the requirement of commercial space in
new developments. The Plan cites the following reasons for
these
changes:
1) discourage large-scale
auto-oriented commercial uses
at the
south end of
the historic district, 2) to increase
the
potential for
single purpose residential development
... and
3) to
continue to encourage a broad range of
commercial
uses
compatible with neighborhood
commercial
districts.
Some critics have said DESC's proposed project is larger than anything
currently on the block and that should be a compelling reason to block
its development. While it is true that the plan for the 5270
Rainier
building is larger than the current structures on the block, the vision
of the neighborhood plan is to encourage low to medium scale
commercial and residential uses on the block.
Continued
revitalization of Hillman City depends on continued
thoughtful development. As revitalization continues to occur
along this part of Rainier, DESC's building will be joined by buildings
of similar scale.
While DESC’s original proposal of 80 apartments and no
commercial space fits well within the zoning and is consistent
with the vision of
the neighborhood plan, we have received strong urging from neighbors
for a smaller development and the addition of commercial space on the
street level. Taking these concerns to heart, DESC
downsized to a 60-unit
building with some
commercial space.
In early 2007, DESC
and our consultants weighed the possible options for ensuring
that Rainier Housing would be competitive in tax credit
funding competition, and decided that downsizing it to 50-units would
allow the building to open in late 2008, as scheduled. This
change allows DESC to end the homelessness of 50 men and women living
with mental illness and other disabling conditions as soon as possible.
It will not significantly impact the facade appearance of the building. DESC will work with the
neighborhood and
the City on the design of the commercial space.
The project will be four floors -- three floors of apartments above a
ground floor that provides retail and resident common areas including a
dining
room, laundry room, outdoor courtyard, offices and conference room.
On-site underground parking will accommodate all staff/resident
parking. It is highly unlikely that any resident will own or operate a
vehicle due to their extremely low incomes. The current
schedule is to begin construction in late summer 2007 with project
completion approximately one year later. See a more specific timeline below.
back to top
What will
the building
look like?
The architectural plans are based in part on the feedback we
received
from the Design Review Board meetings in mid-2006.
Will
this project increase traffic & congestion in the area?
No. Tenants in the building will not have cars, and thus will not be
contributing to congestion. Per code requirement, underground parking
will be developed on
the property for any staff or program-related vehicles. Staffing levels
will fluctuate throughout the day, with a maximum number of
approximately five people. Nighttime staffing levels will be less.
Are
you putting a new, untested program into my neighborhood?
No. DESC has successfully done this before, and is recognized
throughout King County as one of the leading providers of special-needs
housing.
DESC has developed and manages five other buildings in Seattle with 421
apartments serving some of the most disadvantaged members of the
homeless population in our City. More
information about DESC's supportive housing in Seattle.
You
may have heard about a new DESC project in downtown Seattle called 1811 Eastlake for people with
severe long-term
alcoholism. We want to
emphasize that DESC's Rainier Housing is not targeted to
this population. The 1811 Eastlake project is unlike any other housing
project in our region -- housing for a highly disabled and costly group
of individuals. 1811 Eastlake supportive housing for 75 chronic
alcoholics is strategically located close to downtown and in a
non-residential neighborhood. Rainier Housing is not
intended to house a population of chronic alcoholics.
Why
was this site chosen?
Our priority was to locate a site in a neighborhood that is
supportive of amentities;for the vulnerable people we house.
We recognize that the Columbia/Hillman City neighborhood is transitioning to a far more
stable environment and signs of revitalization are apparent
all around. We believe this trend will continue and
in future years the neighborhood setting will contribute
greatly to the stability of tenants in DESC's Rainier Housing.
Additional factors that led us to choose this site include the
proximity to public transportation and the accessibility of other
supportive services in the vicinity.
Isn't
our neighborhood already overburdened with developments like
this?
Some neighbors have raised concerns about the number of very-low
income, homeless or mentally ill people already living in the Hillman
City area. In 2006, the City of
Seattle Office of Housing produced a map showing
that subsidized housing is located in neighborhoods throughout the city. According to King County,
there are 398
residential units, in projects of comparable size, for people with
serious mental illness in the city of
Seattle – 148 (37%) are located north of the ship canal, and
no units are located south of Capitol Hill.
The City of Seattle has set limits on the number of subsidized units in
each neighborhood census block group for very low-income people (those
who
earn less than 30% of the area median income – currently
$16,350 per year). This is to ensure that no one neighborhood
has
an
extraordinary concentration of such units and objective decisions about
siting can be made.
According to the City, the census block group which
encompasses the DESC site on Rainier, has a total capacity for 147
subsidized units for very-low income individuals. Currently
there are only two units that meet this definition – meaning
the capacity exists for 145 more units of housing for people with
extremely low incomes. While there are affordable housing
opportunities for working families and individuals in the area, very
little of it is for people who are disabled or special-need.
What
is the
impact of a development like this on the neighborhood?
In the vicinity of each of DESC’s five apartment buildings,
neighborhoods have become more stable and property values have
increased. The
following are some examples:
Cascade
neighborhood
In 1996, DESC's Kerner-Scott House was a pioneering development in a
neighborhood in transition. Originally built in a neighborhood
of
unimproved parking lots and warehouses, the project was greeted warmly
by the neighborhood.
It now blends nicely in to the diverse fabric of high-end condominiums,
market rate apartments, small business and retail shops. In fact,
Trammell Crow plans to open a $20 million high-end apartment
building right across the alley from Kerner-Scott House later
this year.
Pioneer Square neighborhood
In December 2005, DESC completed the $27 million Morrison
Rehabilitation that has both reclaimed the former
nobility of
the building and added to the vibrancy of a historic district. What was
once a negative presence on the block is now a credit to the street.
Not surprisingly, development is responding all around.
- The
non-profit
Tashiro-Kaplan artist lofts opened in June 2004, kitty
corner from The Morrison. These affordable work/live spaces are
bringing painters, sculptors, photographers, dancers, actors,
musicians, writers, and fifteen children to an almost childless
neighborhood.
- The
nearby
Campbell-Fuller building, previously a major
violator of the neighborhood's good neighbor agreement prohibiting
early morning and single-can alcohol sales, has been razed by a private
residential real estate developer and in its place, new construction is
underway.
- Across
the
street from The Morrison, City Hall Park is undergoing a face-lift and
the
King County Courthouse has just completed one of its own. The Chief
Seattle Club is renovating a vacant building in the neighborhood to
create a community center and the Arctic Building is undergoing a $9
million renovation to convert the building into a 117-room hotel.
- In
April 2006, Samis Land Company announced the surprise sale of its
flagship property, the Smith Tower for $47 million. The Smith Tower,
built directly behind The Morrison, was Seattle's first skyscraper and
was the tallest building west of the Rockies until the mid 1960s. Samis
bought the property for $7.47 million in 1996 and performed a $28
million renovation. A local real estate broker credited the sale to the
changing face of the neighborhood stating, “The whole Pioneer
Square story is improving.”
When
will this site open?
The projected opening date will be in 2008. As the
development process proceeds, a more specific opening date will be
announced. The following is a general timeline for the project:
- Spring 2007: finalize funding and design
- Summer 2007: break ground /
begin
construction
- Fall 2008: complete
construction; begin
move-ins
How
can community members give continued input?
DESC seeks community involvement with this project, as we have in past
developments. Our goal is to develop a safe and successful project, and
we strongly value community input in that process.
DESC is committed to
being a good neighbor and has been very active in the Cascade, Denny
Triangle and
Pioneer Square neighborhoods. When Kerner-Scott House opened,
it received tremendous support from the surrounding community. We hope
to establish the same connection with the Columbia City and Hillman
City neighborhoods.
To date, DESC has participated in 13 forums to inform and solicit
feedback from
neighbors about Rainier Housing:
- Community meeting with the Columbia City Business Association: April 4, 2006
- Community meeting with the Hillman City Business Association: April 5, 2006
- Community meeting with the Rainier Valley Chamber of Commerce: April 20, 2006
- Community meeting with the Mount Baker Community Association: May 1, 2006
- Community meeting with the Hillman City Neighborhood Alliance: May 2, 2006
- Community meeting sponsored by State Senator Adam Kline (37th): May 4, 2006
- Early Design Guidance Review Meeting by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD): May 23, 2006
- Public meeting sponsored by the City of Seattle to discuss a Good Neighbor Agreement: June 14, 2006
- Second Early Design Guidance Review Meeting by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD): Tuesday, June 20, 2006
- First
Community Relations Plan Committee meeting (formerly Good Neighbor
Agreement Committee), hosted by the City of Seattle with
representatives from community groups: August 23, 2006
- Second
Community Relations Plan Committee meeting, hosted by the City of
Seattle with representatives from community groups: September 28, 2006
- Third
Community Relations Plan Committee meeting, hosted by the City of
Seattle with representatives from community groups: November 9,
2006
- Fourth
Community Relations Plan Committee meeting, hosted by the City of
Seattle with representatives from community groups: December 7, 2006
In addition, the
City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development held a
public meeting on January 25, 2007, to hear public comments on the
State Environmental Impact Policy Act (SEPA) review of the project.
Contact DPD for the results of the meeting.
Community Relations Plan
DESC is
very interested in working with the community to make this project a
success. The purpose of the Community Relations Plan is for both
DESC and the neighborhood to work together and to both commit to ensure
that the housing is successful in the neighborhood.
The Rainier Housing
Community Relations Work Group represents neighboring businesses and
individuals who were tasked to produce a written Community Relations
Plan (formerly known as a Good Neighbor Agreement) that specifies the
responsibilities of both parties to the agreement; DESC and the
neighborhood.
The work group is comprised of representatives from
- Columbia City Business Association
- Hillman City Business Association
- Hillman City Neighborhood Alliance
- RainierHOME
- HomeSight
- Southeast Effective Development (SEED), and
- Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC)
Meetings have been convened by the City of Seattle Office of Housing. Interested
neighbors can connect with one of the relevant groups above to provide
input into the Plan.
We also plan to solicit input from these
groups in the following areas:
Development of a comprehensive Service and Management Plan:
As it has done with each of its existing supportive housing projects,
DESC plans to undertake a concerted effort to craft a comprehensive
document to describe and guide the project’s operations. The
Service and Management Plan will describe attributes of prospective
tenants, the admissions procedures, project staffing, on-site services,
and property management activities. To make the document as useful and
relevant as possible, DESC will pull together a working group comprised
of experts in serving and housing homeless mentally ill
adults.
Work group members will include the neighborhood
advisory group, DESC mental health clinicians and housing management
staff along with area service providers with strong track records of
serving and studying the population. We intend to hold a series of
meetings with this group of key informants, followed by a final
document which will serve as the blueprint for running all aspects of
the project. The meetings will begin in late 2007 or early 2008 and the
document should be completed three months prior to the project being
placed in service.
Formation
of a Neighborhood Advisory Council:
DESC is very interested in ongoing involvement with the
neighbors. We hope to assist in the formation of an advisory
group. Potential activities of this group could include:
- Assistance
in the selection of
commercial tenants: DESC is particularly interested in
working with neighbors for mutually acceptable tenants for
the commercial space in the current plan. It will
not serve the neighborhood or DESC if these spaces remain vacant.
- Periodic
updates and presentations
by DESC program staff about activity in the building to any interested
neighborhood group.
- Forum
to check in about tenants'
behaviors, to voice any concerns and come up with mutually
agreeable solutions
- Periodic
check in about the
visual presentation of the building's exterior
- Recruitment
of neighbors for
volunteer activities within the building: DESC depends on
volunteers in each of our apartment buildings. We have
several regular needs for volunteers – serving daily meals,
activity groups (arts group, bingo tournament, video nights in the
community room, etc), and light maintenance projects (spring garden
clean-ups, light painting, etc). Volunteering is a great way
for neighbors to get to know our tenants as well as providing our
tenants a way to become involved in their community to the best of
their capabilities and interest.
Who can
vouch
for DESC's expertise and experience in operating a project like this?
DESC has been the recipient of various honors, including:
- 2004:
Property and Asset Management,
Second Place – Lyon
Building
For a list of contact people who can also speak to DESC's expertise and
experience, please contact us at info(at)desc.org.
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Please
feel free to refer any questions, comments or suggestions about this
project or DESC to:
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Bill
Hobson, DESC Executive Director, at (206)
515-1525, or
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Daniel
Malone, DESC Director of
Housing Programs, at (206)
515-1523 or dmalone(at)desc.org
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