Housing: Seattle Housing Authority Receives $19 Million To Revitalize Yesler Terrace Neighborhood

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) praised the announcement by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan that the Seattle Housing Authority will receive $19 million to redevelop the Yesler Terrace neighborhood.

“I am so pleased that Yesler Terrace was one of the four projects selected nationwide for a Choice grant,” said Senator Murray. “I have fought to continue funding this program because it provides HUD the opportunity to be a partner with local housing authorities and communities that can leverage this funding to revitalize neighborhoods, develop affordable housing, and create new opportunities for residents.”

“We’ve had six years of important collaboration and planning with the community and the City to help guide the redevelopment of Yesler Terrace,” said Andrew Lofton, Executive Director of Seattle Housing Authority. “In 2013 we will begin to see the actual physical transformation of Yesler Terrace into the neighborhood of the future envisioned by residents and stakeholders as the construction of parks, homes and the Hillclimb gets underway.  We are looking forward to making our first new homes for low-income residents available by the end of 2013.”

“HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative supports local visions for how to transform high-poverty, distressed communities into neighborhoods of opportunity,” said Secretary Donovan. “We’re emphasizing a comprehensive approach to revitalizing neighborhoods by considering the totality of a community with regard to health, safety, education, jobs and quality housing in mixed-income neighborhoods.”

In addition to Seattle, HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (Choice) will help transform distressed communities in Cincinnati, Ohio; San Antonio, Tex.; and Tampa, Fla.  This landmark initiative promotes a comprehensive approach to transforming areas of concentrated poverty into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods. The $109 million federal investment of Choice Neighborhoods has generated $393 million in private investments and commitments from local jurisdictions and partners, a 300 percent leveraging.