Dear friends,

How can community-based organizations ensure that apartments remain affordable for decades to come? 

This is a question that SEED just wrestled with at our Lake Washington Apartments. When our out-of-state partner told us that they were no longer going to own affordable apartments in Washington, we immediately began working on a plan. 

We approached the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, who were open to finding a way to keep these apartments affordable for the long term. They understood that Lake Washington Apartments was more than just a typical group of apartments. 

377 affordable homes located on sixteen acres in a campus-like setting – Lake Washington Apartments serves hundreds of families with many hundreds of children. With a playground onsite, the lake, and a soon to be rebuilt high school just across the street, as well as light rail six blocks away, it’s an optimal location for the families that call Lake Washington Apartments home. Recently the nonprofit Voices of Tomorrow opened a center focused on immigrant families, which means residents can have affordable childcare without even crossing a street. 

With the support of Amazon, Enterprise Community Partners, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, JLL, Freddie Mac, and our existing public funders, we were able to put together an innovative funding model for SEED to control the long-term affordability at Lake Washington Apartments. 

Thank you to the staff, consultants and partners who made this possible!

In March, we bought out our partner. Almost immediately, SEED started bringing resident services to the community. SEED’s Resident Services department began by conducting a resident safety meeting where needs assessments were disseminated to better address and prioritize concerns. 

At the same time, SEED has a strong focus on the arts and how they impact residents of all income levels. We have long offered free arts programming for youth at Lake Washington Apartments, a much-appreciated family service. The campus is along Henderson Street, the key arterial between the light rail station and the lake. SEED is working with Re-imagine Henderson to bring artist-designed crosswalks to the community in 2024. These will increase pedestrian safety, pay local artists directly, and further define a sense of place in this proud, low-income community. Public art has thrived in the Rainier Beach neighborhood and is galvanizing the community identity.  

At Lake Washington Apartments, home is the foundation from which families can thrive. And at Lake Washington, these homes will be affordable for at least 99 years. 

Sincerely,  

Michael Seiwerath, Executive Director 

Homes Remain Affordable Thanks to Amazon Fund

Loans and grants from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund are key funding sources that will preserve affordable homes for hundreds of current and future residents of SEED's Lake Washington Apartments. Amazon's funding is part of an innovative deal that also involved refinancing of another SEED building in Southeast Seattle, the Claremont. This deal provides a model for how place-based nonprofits can buy out partners, so that projects can remain in community control for decades to come. Learn more.

April is Fair Housing Month 

The Fair Housing Act is a landmark civil rights law to protect people from discrimination in housing transactions. “Now, with this bill, the voice of justice speaks again. It proclaims that fair housing for all is now a part of the American way of life," said President Johnson on April 11, 1968. This law was a huge step in removing barriers to housing that were created by racist practices.

SEED was founded in 1975 to respond to local needs, aligning with the fight against redlining and racist disinvestment in urban communities. Over the years, SEED has pushed banks to give loans in Southeast Seattle, worked to keep low-income neighbors in their homes, and partnered to support more homeownership opportunities. As we approach SEED’s 50th anniversary, we are more committed than ever to fight for more resources for those farthest from opportunity. 

SEED improves the quality of life in Southeast Seattle through housing, arts, and economic development.