Nonprofit makes green housing affordable

Neighborhood House's High Point Community Center

Green building, due to its long-term payoffs from reduced resource use, is becoming a more prevalent strategy among social service agencies working to provide affordable housing for low-income families.

One such agency, the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) is using green building techniques at High Point, a 716-unit community. The project is the nation's first large-scale development that features low-impact sustainable design in a dense urban setting, according to SHA.

When the project started in 2004, SHA deconstructed some of the old units to reduce waste. The organization sold the salvaged materials to generate revenue. The agency also developed a natural drainage system to manage stormwater on site. Working with Mithun Architects, SvR Design and Nakano Associates, SHA is going so far to re-align the street grid to connect High Point to the surrounding neighborhoods and construct a centrally located shopping center.

SHA is gradually re-developing all of its largest public housing communities, which are the oldest in the nation. High Point will serve as a pilot to help the organization plan green building attributes into future projects.

Neighborhood House, a nonprofit with a long history of bringing services to Seattle public housing residents, is also building a new community center on the High Point site. With construction underway, the 20,000-square foot building is the first project  built by a nonprofit that is going for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold rating. The decision to invest in green building measures was based in part on the long-term financial implications, says Ray Li, development director for Neighborhood House.

As an example, Li points to the building’s solar array, which he says will be largest installed in the state. It will produce 50 percent of the building’s electricity and halve its electricity bills. He also says the building materials they’ve chosen will last much longer than standard building materials, saving costs of maintenance.

Nearly 17 percent of a low-income family’s earnings are spent on energy costs while 40 percent go toward transportation costs, according to the Green Communities Initiative, a green building program for affordable housing developed by a group of national organizations. The organization also says health factors are an important reason for affordable housing developers to invest in green building measures. Asthma is 40 percent to 50 percent more prevalent among minority children living in urban areas, according to the organization.

Going for LEED Gold added about $1 million to the cost of the $13 million community center, Li says. Rather than making it harder to raise money, potential funders have been more attracted to the project, according to Li.

“It’s been a balancing act on both sides,” he says. “But a lot of interest for funders is to invest in innovation. We have had more conversations about interest in innovation rather than upfront costs.”