Seattle's social housing developer is buying a 195-unit Delridge building for $68 million. Here's what the Council has voted on

The Seattle Social Housing Developer's board on Tuesday approved buying Youngstown Flats, a six-story apartment building in North Delridge, for about $68 million, MyNorthwest reported Wednesday. It would be the agency's second building and its first in West Seattle. The purchase is expected to close in mid-December.

For the people who live there, the deal changes the rules on rent. For everyone else, it is the clearest sign yet of how the agency plans to grow: by buying existing buildings while it waits on its first new construction.

This follows our Oct. 24 story, Seattle's social housing developer will build its first project, about a 20-unit building planned for the Central District.

The building and the terms

According to MyNorthwest:

• The building has nearly 200 homes averaging more than 800 square feet, with 10 ADA-compliant units. It sits near the RapidRide C and H lines.
• Current residents would get a rent freeze through December 2028, a free one-year ORCA transit pass and no junk fees. The agency says it plans to end RUBS, the practice of billing tenants a share of the building's utility costs, within the first year.
• The current owner let the building's Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) agreement lapse. That program trades a property tax break for income-restricted units. MyNorthwest reported about 30 residents could be protected from being priced out.
• Rents in social housing are tied to income, and the agency's buildings are open to households earning up to 120 percent of area median income.

The building, at 4040 26th Ave SW, opened in 2013 and has nearly 50 two-bedroom apartments, according to the West Seattle Blog. It had 195 units when it last sold, for $72 million in January 2018, according to The Registry. At $68 million, that works out to roughly $349,000 per unit. The agency's first purchase, Elara at the Market in Belltown, was 150 units for $60.9 million, or about $406,000 per unit, according to the same outlet.

Interim CEO Tiffani McCoy said the agency's focus is permanently affordable, family-sized housing across the city, MyNorthwest reported. The agency says the purchase brings it to almost 350 units, in Districts 1 and 7, and it hopes to own more than 1,000 by the end of 2027, the blog reported.

What our records add: the Council votes behind the money

The Council does not approve individual purchases. The agency is a public development authority with its own board, funded by a voter-approved tax on the part of any employee's pay above $1 million. But the Council has voted on how that tax money reaches the agency and what the agency can do with it:

• CB 121012, the bridge loan (July 8, 2025). Up to $2 million in General Fund financing before the tax revenue arrived, to be repaid from future proceeds. Sponsored by Dan Strauss. It passed 7-0 at the July 8 meeting; District 1's Rob Saka voted yes.
• CB 121153, the tax handoff (Feb. 10, 2026). An interlocal agreement on how the city collects and transfers the social housing tax. It passed 7-0 at the Feb. 10 meeting. Saka voted yes in committee and on the floor.
• Res 32209, the financing tools (June 16, 2026). Approved charter changes letting the agency borrow against its properties and use revenue from one building to back others. Sponsored by Dionne Foster, it was adopted 7-0 at the June 16 meeting. Saka voted yes.

Those charter changes matter for a deal this size. Buying occupied buildings and holding rents flat depends on the agency's ability to finance purchases against future revenue.

Saka, whose district includes Delridge, said he was glad to see social housing come to District 1 and that mixed-income communities help address the affordability crisis, according to MyNorthwest.

The question still ahead

The Stranger reported earlier this month that Councilmember Robert Kettle has floated redirecting social housing tax money to other affordable housing programs, and that the Council cannot change the voter-approved measure until a protection period ends in February 2027. No such legislation is pending in the Council records we track.

West Seattle's light rail extension, now planned to open in 2035, would add a Delridge station a short distance from the building. See our story on the latest design concerns.

What's next

• Mid-December: expected closing, per MyNorthwest.
• 2027: the agency says it will announce more purchases next year.
• February 2027: the protection period on the social housing tax ends.
• District 1's full voting record is on our District 1 page.