County spends millions on housing for veterans, homeless families

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced Dec. 2 that King County has awarded $10.6 million for affordable housing for “veterans, homeless families and others in need.”

“This funding will boost the local economy and create construction jobs, while providing safe and affordable housing that will help hundreds of people who have been hit hard by the recession,” Constantine said.

According to Constantine and the county, the $10.6 million is going toward “local housing projects to create and preserve approximately 607 units of affordable housing.”

Of those 607 units, 412 new housing units will be created, along with 11 new “affordable ownership opportunities.” 220 new rental units will be pegged specifically for people who are “homeless, chronically homeless or at risk of homelessness,” with about 45 of the 220 set aside specifically for homeless veterans and their families.

For South King County, the Multi-Service Center in Federal Way was awarded $1.45 million from the $10.6 million.

According to the county, the MSC will take on the task of building 32 units of affordable housing for homeless veterans and their families. According to the county, 17 of the units will be affordable to households at or below 30 percent AMI (average median income), 10 units at or below 50 percent AMI, and five units at or below 60 percent of AMI.

The county notes that in addition to the housing opportunities created by this project, it will also generate jobs for local workers.

Citing a statistic from the National Association of Home Builders, the county shared that for every 100 units of multifamily housing developed, approximately 116 jobs are generated.

Contact Federal Way Mirror reporter Greg Allmain at gallmain@fedwaymirror.com or 253-925-5565 ext. 5054.

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