Pierce County announcement.
Pierce County Human Services is awarding over $17 million for the development and preservation of affordable housing, resulting in 335 newly built units and 17 preserved units for low-income residents.
“These units will provide stable, affordable housing to households that lack the income to find and maintain housing,” said Bryan Schmid, Pierce County Affordable Housing supervisor. “Monthly costs will be set at an affordable amount for very low and extremely low-income households that currently lack safe and decent housing.”
Housing is considered affordable when the resident pays no more than 30% of their gross income on housing costs, including rent and utilities. Pierce County lacks a sufficient supply affordable housing for very low-income households whose incomes are below 50% of the Area Median Income. Having an adequate supply of affordable housing at all income levels is essential to ending homelessness in Pierce County.
The high cost of housing development requires public investment to create affordability for low-income households. Pierce County’s developers, community groups, and faith-based congregations are rising to this housing affordability challenge. There are currently 2,500 affordable housing units in development countywide. Nine new projects from across the county were selected for funding, offering stable housing to families, individuals experiencing homelessness, seniors, veterans and adults with developmental disabilities.
2022 Affordable Housing Awards
| Project Name | Developer | Funding Amount | Units | Target Population |
| 15th and Tacoma Ave. | Korean Women’s Association | $1,563,997 | 87 units, 18 homeless | Seniors, low-income households |
| Gravelly Lake Commons | LASA | $3,500,000 | 24 units | Very low-income households |
| Lincoln District – Phase 1 | LIHI | $2,500,000 | 77 units, 38 homeless | Low and very low-income households |
| Mercy Aviva Crossing | Mercy Housing NW | $4,786,003 | 70 units, 14 homeless | Very low-income households |
| PCHA Acquisition | Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity | $1,500,000 | 10 units for resale & rehabilitation | Low-income households |
| Proctor Place | Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity | $364,278 | 16 units for sale | Low-income households |
| Shiloh Baptist | Tacoma Housing Authority/Shiloh Baptist Church | $3,094,289 | 60 units, 30 homeless | Very low-income |
| Vadis Home Acquisition | Vadis | $323,600 | 1 3-bedroom for disabled individuals | Disabled adults with very low-income |
| Vadis Home Rehab | Vadis | $85,930 | 7-home rehabilitation | Disabled adults |
“These awards represent a growing awareness that our county is woefully short on affordable housing,” said Heather Moss, Pierce County Human Services director. “The good news is that our policy makers are investing more, and the developer community is rising to the challenge of creating more affordable housing when they see opportunities to take advantage of public funding necessary to make these projects viable.”
Four times the normal amount of funding was available because the Pierce County Council approved over $12 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to increase affordable housing production. In addition to ARPA, annual affordable housing funds come from a variety of sources, including Federal HUD HOME dollars, local 1406 affordable housing sales tax (local funds retained from the State’s portion of sales tax revenue), and local affordable housing document recording fees. This County funding represents a significant investment in affordable housing, but is still inadequate to meet the demand.
Funding requests for 846 units, totaling just over $29 million, were submitted to Pierce County this past spring. Six projects were recommended for the waitlist, which could bring another 454 affordable units to Pierce County.
The projects approved for funding will be developed in accordance with federal, state and local requirements and will secure affordability through long-term deed restrictions.
