Seattle's social housing developer will build its first project. Here are the Council votes behind how it pays for it

The Seattle Social Housing Developer, the city's public housing developer funded by a tax on high salaries, has announced the first building it will build from scratch: a five-story, 20-unit apartment building in the Central District, The Stranger reported. It is scheduled to open in 2028.

For residents, this is the first test of whether the new agency can build, not just buy, housing, and the Council has already shaped how it can pay for that.

The project and the money

According to The Stranger:

• The site is a 7,800-square-foot lot that belonged to the late state Rep. Frank Chopp. Units would be a mix of affordable and market-rate rentals, mostly two- and three-bedroom homes for families.
• The budget is about $15 million, roughly $750,000 per unit. The agency plans union labor and passive house and universal design standards, which raise costs.
• The developer's main revenue, a 5 percent tax on employers for the part of any salary above $1 million, brought in $136 million last year and $59 million in the first half of 2026, about 2.5 times expectations.
• It plans a $270 million bond to fund expansion and has raised its 2027 production goal by 70 percent. It aims to have 1,000 units owned or in the pipeline by the end of 2027.
• Its first acquisition, the 150-unit Elara at the Market in Belltown, was bought in May.

Interim CEO Tiffani McCoy announced the project and said the agency may pursue taller buildings later, The Stranger reported.

What our records add: the Council votes that set the rules

1. The tax handoff (February). The Council passed CB 121153 on Feb. 10, authorizing an interlocal agreement that sets how the city collects, transfers, reports on and oversees the social housing tax, including reimbursement of the city's costs. It was the mayor's legislation, sponsored by Dan Strauss (District 6) and Dionne Foster (Position 9). City Clerk records show seven yes votes and no no votes; Debora Juarez and Strauss are not recorded as voting. The mayor signed it Feb. 19.

2. The financing tools (June). The Council adopted Resolution 32209, sponsored by Foster, on June 16, approving charter changes the developer's board requested. According to the Council's release, the changes let the developer use its properties as collateral for debt, sell the commercial part of a building while keeping the housing, and use revenue from one building to support others and bond payments. Those are the tools behind the bond and the mixed-income model described above. The vote was 7-0, with Eddie Lin and Maritza Rivera not recorded as voting. Foster's Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights Committee recommended it on June 10.

Before that: the ballot and a bridge loan. The tax traces to Initiative 137, which proposed payroll taxes on excess compensation to fund the developer (Res 32148). Our records show the Council declined to adopt the initiative in September 2024 and sent it to the Feb. 11, 2025 ballot alongside a Council-drafted alternative (CF 314535, CB 120864). Before the tax revenue arrived, the Council approved up to $2 million in General Fund bridge financing to be repaid from future tax proceeds (CB 121012), sponsored by Strauss, in July 2025.

The Council also confirms members of the developer's governing council. It confirmed one appointment 9-0 on June 2 (Appt 03508).

The fight ahead

The Stranger reported that Councilmember Robert Kettle (District 7) has floated diverting social housing tax money to other affordable housing, but that the Council cannot change the voter-approved measure until a protection period expires in February 2027. Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck (Position 8) attended the announcement, and a staff member from Foster's office was there, the paper reported.

The Stranger also noted that the developer can bypass most zoning rules through housing cooperation agreements, which require a Council vote. We found no such agreement in the Council legislation we track, which goes back to 2024.

The site is in District 3, represented by Council President Joy Hollingsworth; see her District 3 page.

What's next

• 2027-2028 budget: The city's budget plan shifts about $47 million a year of homelessness programs onto the JumpStart payroll tax, a separate tax, according to the Council's Central Staff analysis. The final budget vote is Nov. 20.
• February 2027: The protection period on the social housing tax ends, The Stranger reported.
• 2028: Scheduled opening of the Central District building.