From By John Caulfield at Builder:
Over the past year, developers have applied for permits to build 1,500 apartments and condos within a half-mile of transit stations in Seattle’s Rainier Valley neighborhood. Those stations will serve the 15.6-mile Link light-rail line connecting downtown Seattle with Sea-Tac Airport. The rail line is scheduled to open in July 2009.
This housing represents Rainier Valley’s first nonsubsidized multifamily projects in more than three decades. Nearly half of these housing units will be built by developer Othello Partners, including The Station at Othello Park, an $80 million project with 350 rental units and 20,000 square feet of retail space. “One of the most important factors in our decision to build was the light rail,” says Mike Hlastala, Othello Partners’ COO.
In cities across the U.S., light rail had the biggest increase in riders—8.3 percent—among all modes of public transit in 2008, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Burgeoning municipalities and states see transit-centric development as essential to managing their population growth, which in Seattle’s case is expected to rise by 1.2 million over the next quarter century. Many cities also see a receptive federal government now that President Obama has made infrastructure investment a linchpin in his administration’s long-range economic growth strategy. The U.S. Department of Transportation and HUD recently formed a joint task force to devise ways to put more affordable homes near job centers and transit hubs. Read more.
Light rail is due to start on July 18 throughout the Rainier Valley corridor. Photo/do communications, inc.
Related:
- N’hood Planning: More Than You Ever Wanted to Know + “Community” Meetings Round 2 (5/4/09)
- Recession Stalls Building Boom Along Rainier Valley’s Light-Rail Corridor (4/6/09)
- Economy Slows Rainier Valley Development; Business Hopes Hinge on Light Rail (4/1/09)
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