Mt. Baker Housing, an affordable housing developer, recently completed the first phase of its $50M preservation effort at the 156-unit, seven-building Mt. Baker Village property. The project included construction of 49 new residential units.

The affordable housing project caters to those in the 30% to 60% average median income bracket.

The complex, at 2900 South McClellan St., was built 59 years ago. The next phase includes the remodeling of 107 existing units.

“As our namesake from nearly 30 years ago, Mt. Baker Village is important to the neighborhood and our vision as an affordable housing provider,” Mt. Baker Housing Executive Director Mike Rooney said in a statement. “This project was built in the 1950s and our goal with this substantial investment is to ensure Mt. Baker Housing provides affordable housing to individuals and families for another 50+ years.”

In 2017, the company entered into an agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Seattle Housing Authority to convert Mt. Baker Village's annually renewing Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Housing Assistance Payments contract to a 15-year contract using HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration - Second Component process.

This was the first time the process had been used in Seattle, according to Rooney. It was also unique because it included both new construction of units as well as rehabilitation of existing ones.

Prior to the preservation project, the property had not been updated for 30 years. Improvements include efforts to meet the needs of the aging population, such as installing a new elevator and making some units easily accessible.

Construction on the project began in April 2017 and is expected to be complete by September.