The tenants of Squire Park Plaza dont want their Central Area Development Association (CADA) owned building sold to a for-profit developer. Read their letter and make a decision for yourself, but if you agree and want to help, just sign that change.org petition below (or email over a copy of the letter signed with your name)! These folks only need a few more signatures before they can send their letter to the Mayor: To: Edward B Murray, Mayor of Seattle Stephen H Johnson, City of Seattle - Director, Office of Economic Development Steve Walker, City of Seattle - Director, Office of Housing We, the tenants of Squire Park Plaza and neighbors, respectfully ask your administration to reverse the OED and OH recommendation dated March 11, 2014 to sell Squire Park Plaza to the private market and to do everything in your power to help CADA sell our building to a buyer committed to maintaining or improving its current levels of affordability. The building’s current owner, Central Area Development Association (CADA), has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement to sell Squire Park Plaza to a for-profit developer on the City’s recommendation. We are not convinced the City and CADA are appropriately prioritizing a viable nonprofit buyer willing to preserve or improve Squire Park Plaza’s current levels of affordability. Squire Park Plaza was constructed with millions of public dollars (HUD 108 loan, grants from nonprofits, tax exemptions and even the City’s below-market deal on the “urban renewal” land Squire Park Plaza was built on) and was intended to serve the public good. We do not want to see this new, green building of mixed-income affordable units be handed over to private, for-profit hands so soon after its construction. Even though the HUD 108 loan and the building’s 20 year affordability covenant only requires 51% of Squire Park Plaza’s 60 units to be affordable for tenants earning 80%AMI and below, 73% of the units at Squire Park Plaza are currently affordable for low and moderate income citizens. Additionally, 35% of the units are affordable for families making under 60% AMI. Losing Squire Park Plaza to the private market would represent a tremendous loss of affordable housing in Seattle at the publics expense. There is little doubt that a for-profit developer would reduce affordability to the bare minimum and could convert many of our homes to market rate, luxury apartments that are affordable only to the wealthy. We are aware of nonprofits that are interested in purchasing Squire Park Plaza. The prospective buyers that should be prioritized are those that will make a commitment to maintaining Squire Park Plaza as accessible to our current economically and racially diverse community of families, seniors, and people with disabilities. If Squire Park Plaza were sold to a for-profit developer, there is no question that many of our families would be displaced. Gentrification and displacement have a long and accelerated history in the Central Area and across Seattle. Mayor Murray, your administration has shown its commitment to reducing economic inequality in its championing of the $15 minimum wage and through your stated goals to “Expand Affordable Housing, Fight Foreclosures and Make Seattle Livable for All” and to “Increase workforce housing and… close the market gap and develop housing for all income levels.” (Goal 4, Economic Opportunity Agenda for Seattle.). Preserving Squire Park Plaza is another opportunity to make good on those commitments. Understanding that there is a very short (10-15 days) due diligence window on the purchase and sale agreement, we make the following requests with urgency. We respectfully ask that your office support us, the organized Squire Park Plaza families who want to save our homes. We implore the OED and OH to urge CADA to fulfill its financial responsibilities through a sale to a nonprofit that would relieve CADA of its outstanding financial obligations, pay the HUD 108 loan, and prevent displacement of 60+ families by keeping Squire Park Plaza as affordable, mixed-income housing. Sincerely, (enter your name) https://change.org/petitions/edward-b-murray-keep-the-central-area-s-squire-park-plaza-affordable-for-families-seniors-and-the-disabled #affordablehousingseattle
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 23:45:05 +0000
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