Filipino Community of Seattle plans 70 low-income housing units

Projected Filipino Village site with low-income housing units in Seattle. CONTRIBUTED GRAPHIC

SAN FRANCISCO – The Filipino Community of Seattle plans to start construction next year of 70 apartments for low-income seniors and others.

The four-story building will be just east of the organization’s headquarters at 5740 Martin Luther King Junior Way S., reports the Daily Journal of Commerce.

Filipino Community of Seattle was founded in 1935 and serves Filipinos and other immigrants and refugees in the Rainier Valley. FCS said immigrants and refugees make up 17 percent of Seattle’s population.

The $19 million complex will be built on seven parcels, totaling 30,000 square feet, which FCS has purchased since 2008. The horseshoe-shaped building, designed by Rolluda Architects, will wrap around a large patio.

Studios and apartments with up to three bedrooms are planned as well as a rooftop garden, commercial kitchen, laundry room, dining room and reception area.

The building also will have a 3,000-square-foot technology center for FCS’s youth program, offering instruction on robotics, 3D arts and computer repair.

The center will also be used by adults, including business owners and for job and technical assistance. Those programs are now in the community center at FCS’s headquarters.

FCS Executive Director Sheila Burrus said this is the organization’s first housing project so it is partnering with Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, which has over 30 years of experience building housing.

The partnership will develop and own the building and lease the land from FCS. After 15 years, FCS will be the sole owner of the building..

FCS recently received $1.2 million from the state’s Community Projects fund for the project, and has raised $250,000 from the community.

FCS hopes to get the rest of the funding from Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, Impact Capital, Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, King County, Seattle Housing Levy and FCS’s continuing capital campaign.

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