Stoel Rives congratulates our client, Kirkland Sustainable Investments LLC and its principal/manager, Robert Pantley, for an innovative collaboration with the city of Kirkland, Washington, that will help increase access to affordable housing for Kirkland city employees and other public sector employees in the city.
The Kirkland City Council approved a landmark agreement sponsored by KSI that will set aside up to 34 apartments in two developments in the downtown Kirkland core, the Arete project and the soon-to-be-completed Plaza project. A mix of living units in both residential communities will be earmarked specifically for rent by city and other public sector employees. Both buildings were constructed to LEED Platinum standards.
The 12-year pilot agreement also includes plans for an additional 23 affordable living units at the Plaza project under the state’s Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program, available to households that make under 80% of the area median income.
The goal of this innovative program is to provide workplace housing for Kirkland city employees, the vast majority of whom cannot afford to live within the city limits of Kirkland, where property costs have increased greatly in recent years.
Robert Pantley and Angela Rozmyn, through their family-owned company Natural and Built Environments LLC (NABE), have been leaders in green building, becoming the Eastside’s key sustainable building company with expertise in transportation and parking efficiencies as integral parts of successful “Ten Minute Communities.” NABE developed the Eastside’s first residential suite communities in Redmond, which brought badly needed affordable housing to that community. The Arete project was the LEED Multifamily Project of the Year (Worldwide) in 2017 and winner of the Washington Governor’s Smart Communities Award. This was the second NABE-developed project to win the Washington Governor’s Smart Communities Award – the first such award going to the Tudor Manor project in Redmond.
Stoel Rives’ attorneys Beth Clark and John Fandel have been working with Pantley, KSI and the city of Kirkland on this project for over two years.
To learn more, read this article in the Seattle Times.