Ronald Commons Open House 6/3/15
Please join Compass Housing Alliance, Hopelink and Ronald United Methodist Church for an Open House to share the latest design for the Ronald Commons Project
5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 3rd
Hopelink Service Center
15809 Westminster Way N. Shoreline, WA 98133
Ronald Commons – A new mixed-use project in Shoreline that will include 60 units of affordable housing, an Integrated Service Center and a remodeled Ronald United Methodist Church
More information:
Tyler (Compass Housing) 206-474-1061
Kevin (Hopelink) 206-440-7300
Find the flyer
5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 3rd
Hopelink Service Center
15809 Westminster Way N. Shoreline, WA 98133
Ronald Commons – A new mixed-use project in Shoreline that will include 60 units of affordable housing, an Integrated Service Center and a remodeled Ronald United Methodist Church
More information:
Tyler (Compass Housing) 206-474-1061
Kevin (Hopelink) 206-440-7300
Find the flyer
Ronald Commons 5/22/13
We will have a short neighborhood meeting on this project on Wednesday, May 29, at 7 pm. Join us at the Richmond Highlands Rec Center on Fremont to discuss concerns and solutions, and craft a good comment letter.
Permit has been filed (#201936): 17839 Aurora Avenue N; Divide church property into two tax parcels for future development of mixed use affordable housing project. Public comment ends JUNE 4.
FAQs from Compass Housing are here: http://www.compasshousingalliance.org/about/projects-in-development/
Click on Ronald Commons and then Ronald Commons FAQ
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, and Hopelink.
Permit has been filed (#201936): 17839 Aurora Avenue N; Divide church property into two tax parcels for future development of mixed use affordable housing project. Public comment ends JUNE 4.
FAQs from Compass Housing are here: http://www.compasshousingalliance.org/about/projects-in-development/
Click on Ronald Commons and then Ronald Commons FAQ
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, and Hopelink.
Ronald Commons Project 4/28/13
The following notes are a combination of project notes from RUMC/Compass/Hopelink and those taken by Lisa...
Project Summary:
Hopelink will have a 12,000 service center that will provide critical basic needs and asset-building services to Shoreline residents including food bank, financial assistance, and employment and adult education services.
Compass Housing will have 62 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartment units affordable to households earning at or below 30-%-50% of King County Area Median income.
Timeline
Binding Site Plan Process: April-June 2013
Acquire Site: July 2013
Design and Permitting: August 2013-August 2014 or 2015, depending on funding outcomes
Begin Construction: August 2014 or 2015, depending on funding outcomes
Complete Construction: September 2015 or 2016, depending on funding outcomes
Parking, Street Improvements and Traffic
- Sidewalks will be provided as required for the right of way improvements along Linden Avenue. The sidewalk will extend the whole block of the property.
- Parking will be provided to meet code. There will be 49 stalls in the garage, 72 service spots, and on-street parking. 0.5 parking spaces per unit is presumed to be adequate, based on other properties.
- Per City of Shoreline code, no commercial deliveries or commercial driveway entrances are allowed off Linden Avenue. All commercial access will be accommodated off Aurora Avenue.
- All visitors and deliveries for the Food Bank will be served off Aurora Avenue. In addition, all church traffic will move from Linden to Aurora.
- Traffic on Linden will be limited to residential use. Residential visitor parking will be directed to the church parking lot.
- The right of way width will be increased per the City of Shoreline right of way requirements. The width of Linden Avenue right of way will be 64' and will include a drive aisle, street parking, an amenity zone, and a sidewalk.
- My impression is that the widening happens for that one block. The new sidewalk will extend the length of that block as well, but no farther. Now that I try to picture that, I wonder if that will ultimately serve as a traffic-calming amenity - if the visual is that the street narrows, maybe people slow down...
Zoning and Building Siting
- The building will comply with the transitional zoning code and they are not planning to build to the full allowable density.
- The current plan shows a 10' setback from the property line to the building first floor, and 15' setback for the majority of the building. At the 15' setback, the building will stand 4 stories high.
- The buildings have been located to maximize the use of the property while still allowing room for parking for all uses and to encourage a shared, campus feel.
- There will be 7 single units on the ground floor facing Linden, each with a front yard. These may be rented by any qualified renter - a single person, couple, single parent with kids, or small family.
- Ronald United Methodist Church's priority in selling its land was to see affordable housing and a service center for Hopelink. The church building will not be demolished or moved.
- They will preserve as many trees as possible; most will be removed. The trees on the front of the church property (facing Aurora) were once considered for removal, and now will not be.
Building Occupants & Uses
- The building will serve people earning between 30%-50% of the area median income for King County. The reasons for folks needing lower rents will be as varied as the people themselves.
- Hopelink and Compass will monitor the building area and ensure that there is no increased crime. There will be 2 residential managers, providing 24-hour support. In addition, Hopelink plans to expand service hours, meaning more staff longer.
- Building rules will be an attachment to the lease. Residents will be given notices for violation of the rules, and can be evicted.
- They did not deny that there would probably be some former addicts in the apartments, but no active drug users. I do not know what the screening is, but they seemed in agreement that the partnership is set up to help people succeed and move on.
- All three agencies brought up several times that Affordable Housing shouldn't be scary. The lower rent apartment buildings have no oversight of their tenants, whereas these will. They also have simple apartment leases with no expectations written in, whereas these do. People need lower rents for a variety of reasons, and this setup gives them not only a place to live, but also services to help them restore their credit, get better paying jobs, learn English, etc.
- Of note: Diane Hettrick, who has written up the police blotter for years, is not convinced that crime in the food bank area can be attributed to those clients. She said Safeway gets hit a lot, and when QFC was on 185th and Aurora, it got hit a lot also.
Miscellaneous
- The project is providing improved amenity space along the Linden Avenue property line, including a landscape amenity zone and 8' sidewalk. (in response to the general safety of kids in the neighborhood). Lisa's note: if the concern was about the high schoolers and traffic, I will suggest (having two of those) that they are likely to walk 4 across down the middle of the street regardless. If the concern was for the children in the proposed apartments, the drawings look like the kids will be well contained in the middle of the site.
- The project will increase residents in the area, but it will also include a large community plaza in the middle of the site with gathering space and a play structure for residential use.
- Compass and Hopelink will own the Linden-facing 34,000 sf parcel and Ronald UMC will own the Aurora-facing parcel. The partnership is about bringing a service to the community. Each partner brings its own skills to the project. The partnership is not new; these agencies have been working together for years.
- Ronald UMC conducted a visioning process whereby affordable housing and services for low-income households were prioritized as priorities for the congregation. This projects aligns with their mission and vision, and allows for some renovations to the church building.
- The funding piece is associated with Compass. They have apparently been around since the 1920s, and have long-term funders. They are required to file annual reports that show that they're building housing that will last, for communities that need service. If for any reason Compass were to go under, the IRS requires that another nonprofit with the same mission would take over ownership and management of the properties, keeping them Affordable Housing with resident managers.
They do not have a date for the next public meeting, but it will not be soon. Mostly because they have some work to do before coming back to the community. They did say they'd put up FAQs for us, and I'll share the link when we have it (2 weeks or so).
Construction traffic will likely be required to come off of Linden, because of the route from I5 to 175th to Linden. But maybe not. We won't hear an answer to that (nor will they have one) until they get deeper into the project and write up permits and construction documents.
Points to Ponder...
City Framework Goals that support and encourage this project (why City Council is behind this project):
FG 12: Support diverse and affordable housing choices that provide for Shoreline’s population growth, including options accessible for the aging and/or developmentally disabled.
FG 14: Designate specific areas for high density development, especially along major transportation corridors.
City Framework Goals that fell a little short for us (particularly on the setback issue):
FG 10: Respect neighborhood character and engage the community in decisions that affect them.
FG 11: Make timely and transparent decisions that respect community input.
There was a comment that the Arabella Apartments in North City are built to 0' and are not offensive. Here is the link to the complex: http://www.arabellaliving.com/Apartments/module/photos/property[id]/5998/ There are not many photos of the building from the outside, but you can see the building and maybe picture it if you've drive by there. What do you think? Does Linden look enough like this part of North City to encourage this kind of project? Would this be an improvement? How about if Fred Meyer built out to 0 feet? What is appropriate for this transition zone, and what character do you attribute to this part of our neighborhood?
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, and Hopelink.
Ronald Commons News 4/14/13
At the March 18 City Council meeting, Ordinance 654 was passed, which was amended to eliminate the setback requirement for development. This means that any project can be built up to 35 feet high with 0 feet of setback from the right of way, rather than with 15 feet of setback, originally in the Town Center transition zoning (if you want to check out the meeting, I recommend watching the video rather than reading the minutes. It's the last part of that meeting). Part of the rationale behind this decision is to make it easier for affordable housing projects in particular to be developed - and Town Center is the logical place.
Compass Housing does not currently intend to build out to the 0' setback. There should be another public meeting soon, so keep your eyes open for that.
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, and Hopelink.
Compass Housing does not currently intend to build out to the 0' setback. There should be another public meeting soon, so keep your eyes open for that.
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, and Hopelink.
Ronald Commons News 4/7/13
For those of you interested in the impacts of this project to the neighborhood, particularly along Linden, here is a link to the Town Center development codes. Here is a link to Ordinance 654, amending the development code. We have some outstanding questions that will hopefully have some answers here next week.
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, andHopelink.
This project brings together Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance, andHopelink.
Ronald Commons News 3/3/13
Dear Ronald United Methodist Church Neighbor:
Please come hear a presentation for the proposed development at the Ronald United Methodist Church property at 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA 98133. At this meeting we will discuss the specific details and solicit comments on the proposal from the neighborhood.
Meeting Information:
Proposal: A mixed-use development that will include one floor of partial underground parking for approximately 62 vehicles, one floor of commercial space and four floors of affordable housing. The development is a partnership between Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance and Hopelink. The housing will include approximately 60 one, two and three bedroom units that will be affordable to households earning less than 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. The development will give residents a home that is in close proximity to jobs and amenities, in a setting that will support families with indoor and outdoor common space as well as support services to assist families develop stability and success. Hopelink will also operate a service center on the first floor commercial space. The service center will provide critical basic needs and asset building services to Shoreline residents including a food bank, financial assistance, employment and adult education services. The Ronald United Church will also undergo renovation during the redevelopment of the property.
The zoning for the property is Town Center 2. The residential parking will be accessed from Linden Street. The Hopelink Service Center and Ronald United Methodist Church parking will be accessed from Aurora Avenue North and will utilize the area of the existing Ronald United Church parking lot. The land use applications that are required for this development include a Binding Site Plan to subdivide 34, 000 SF of the Ronald United Methodist Church property for the proposed development.
Date: March 4th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location of Meeting: Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA 98133
We would be happy to answer any of your questions about this project or Compass Housing Alliance, Hopelink or Ronald United Methodist Church. For more information, please contact Beth Boram, Property Development Director at Compass Housing Alliance at 206 357-3103 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Beth Boram
Property Development Director
Please come hear a presentation for the proposed development at the Ronald United Methodist Church property at 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA 98133. At this meeting we will discuss the specific details and solicit comments on the proposal from the neighborhood.
Meeting Information:
Proposal: A mixed-use development that will include one floor of partial underground parking for approximately 62 vehicles, one floor of commercial space and four floors of affordable housing. The development is a partnership between Ronald United Methodist Church, Compass Housing Alliance and Hopelink. The housing will include approximately 60 one, two and three bedroom units that will be affordable to households earning less than 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. The development will give residents a home that is in close proximity to jobs and amenities, in a setting that will support families with indoor and outdoor common space as well as support services to assist families develop stability and success. Hopelink will also operate a service center on the first floor commercial space. The service center will provide critical basic needs and asset building services to Shoreline residents including a food bank, financial assistance, employment and adult education services. The Ronald United Church will also undergo renovation during the redevelopment of the property.
The zoning for the property is Town Center 2. The residential parking will be accessed from Linden Street. The Hopelink Service Center and Ronald United Methodist Church parking will be accessed from Aurora Avenue North and will utilize the area of the existing Ronald United Church parking lot. The land use applications that are required for this development include a Binding Site Plan to subdivide 34, 000 SF of the Ronald United Methodist Church property for the proposed development.
Date: March 4th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location of Meeting: Ronald United Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, WA 98133
We would be happy to answer any of your questions about this project or Compass Housing Alliance, Hopelink or Ronald United Methodist Church. For more information, please contact Beth Boram, Property Development Director at Compass Housing Alliance at 206 357-3103 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Beth Boram
Property Development Director
