Case Study
Ivan001
YeslerTerrace-DevelopmentPlan2011.pdf
Yesler Terrace Development Plan Bringing Home a Better Future
S E AT T L E H O U S I N G A U T H O R I T Y
Adopted by the Board of Commissioners May 17, 2011
John Littel, Chair Nora Gibson, Vice Chair Yusuf Cabdi, Juan Martinez, Kollin Min, Doug Morrison, Heyward Watson
Tom Tierney, Executive Director
is wearing out, and now it is time to replace it. Our goal is to build healthier, sturdier and more functional housing for its current residents that will endure for at least another 70 years and serve low-income residents into the future.
Providing enduring low-income housing drives our work here. But beyond our housing goals, many opportunities for strengthening the community present themselves. Working with the City of Seattle, nonprofit partners and private businesses, we envision the new Yesler Terrace as a mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood that will be a diverse and exciting community where people across the income spectrum come to live, learn, work and play.
Yesler Terrace’s 30-acre site, situated as it is at the edge of downtown, invites us as a progressive city to create a new neighborhood that replaces worn-out housing and also meets broader goals of enhanced opportunity, greater access to education, sustainability and livability.
Here at the Seattle Housing Authority, we will maintain our focus on creating great low-income housing at Yesler Terrace. We invite others to partner with us to meet these broader goals and help to create a truly great urban neighborhood in the heart of Seattle.
This development plan lays out a broad framework for the renewal of housing and the enhancement of the Yesler Terrace community over the next 10 to 20 years.
Our mission at Yesler Terrace – and throughout Seattle – is to provide the healthiest, most well-built housing possible for low-income residents. We have maintained the 70-year-old housing at Yesler Terrace well, and we are immensely proud of the rich tradition of inclusion and opportunity that this community has offered those who have lived here. But the housing at Yesler Terrace
Redevelopment Guiding Principles SOCIAL EQUITY Meet the essential needs and improve the quality of life for current and future Yesler Terrace generations, regardless of racial, cultural, economic or other status. Enable access to employment, education, medical care, social services, nutritious food and quality affordable housing, especially for those with very low-incomes, giving priority to those most in need.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY Improve the overall economic conditions, opportunities and quality of life for current and future generations within the Yesler Terrace community. Foster access to jobs, transportation, community services and safe low-income affordable housing and financial tools.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP & SUSTAINABILITY Integrate smart “green” design and equitable environmental and economic practices. Achieve a positive and healthy community for current and future Yesler Terrace generations, while preserving housing affordability.
ONE-FOR-ONE REPLACEMENT HOUSING Replace or exceed the current number of very- low-income and low-income housing units at Yesler Terrace. Provide choice, options, site integration and affordability in a dense and culturally and economically diverse community. Redevelopment options will guarantee no net loss of very-low-income housing serving public housing-eligible residents on the current site of Yesler Terrace or in the immediate neighborhood.
For more information on the Guiding Principles, visit www.seattlehousing.org
Tom Tierney, Executive Director
Project Vision page 4
Development Plan Elements page 5 Implementing the Development Plan page 6
Land Uses page 7
Land Use: Housing page 8 Land Use: Parks & Open Space page 9 Land Use: Neighborhood Retail & Services page 10 Land Use: Office page 11
Table of Contents
Pedestrian Connections page 12
Phasing Considerations page 13
Relocation Approach and Right to Return page 14
Community Participation Plan page 15
Project Mitigations page 16
Social Infrastructure page 17
Sustainable Infrastructure page 18
Funding Partnership Goals page 19
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Project Vision
Seattle Housing faces a unique opportunity to build a highly visionary mixed-income urban community for the 21st century. Key goals include—
1. Maintain Yesler Terrace as an affordable community by replacing existing low-income housing and building additional low-income, workforce and market-rate housing.
2. Create a livable, safe and vibrant community. Design an interactive and engaging community for residents of all ages, incomes and abilities–a neighborhood where anyone would choose to live. The new neighborhood will be a mixed-use community where housing, retail, community buildings, open spaces and streets are designed to support a diversity of resident lifestyles.
3. Support diversity. Support economic and cultural diversity in housing, job opportunities and community interaction. Provide a variety of housing to meet community needs.
4. Fit naturally into the community. Reintegrate Yesler Terrace with surrounding communities and downtown.
5. Develop strategies to address economic opportunities and social needs.
6. Develop Yesler Terrace as a model sustainable, green and healthy community.
7. Capitalize on Yesler Terrace’s unique location and features. Design the community to take advantage of excellent views, both from the community and of the community; accessibility to downtown, transit and jobs; proximity to Harborview and Little Saigon; and opportunities offered by redevelopment of a 30-acre urban neighborhood.
8. Continue stakeholder involvement throughout the development process.
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Development Plan Elements
Housing Program
1 Extremely low-income: up to 30 percent Area Median Income (AMI)
2 Additional low-income housing units to be developed by nonprofit partners on the Yesler Terrace site with discounted land prices and use of Housing Choice Vouchers secured through City of Seattle NOFA process
3 Very low-income: up to 60 percent AMI
4 Workforce housing: up to 80 percent AMI
Housing
Office
Neighborhood services
Neighborhood retail
Parks & semi-private open space
Parking
4.3 million
900,000
65,000
88,000
15.9
5,100
SF / 5,000 units
SF
SF
SF
acres
spaces
Total units
Extremely low-income units1
Replacement units
Additional units2
Very low-income units3
Workforce units4
Market-rate units
5,000
661
561
100
290
850
3,199
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Implementing the Development Plan
In April 2011, as part of the annual Comprehensive Plan amendment process, the City Council created a new Comp Plan designation called “Master Planned Community” (MPC). This designation provides a mechanism for reviewing development of large, multi-block sites in urban centers where those sites are in single ownership or control, have potential to achieve urban density within a sustainable mixed-use development, and offer an opportunity to create a cohesive urban design throughout the entire development.
In addition to creating the new MPC mechanism, the City Council amended the Future Land Use Map to designate Yesler Terrace a Master Planned Community (see below).
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Also in April 2011, Seattle Housing completed its Planned Action Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Yesler Terrace Redevelopment. The “planned action” EIS identifies detailed impacts associated with redevelopment of the site, along with appropriate measures to mitigate adverse impacts. Once the pro- posal is defined as a planned action by City Council, future con- struction projects on the site that meet the criteria of that planned action would not be subject to SEPA review.
In the Final EIS, Seattle Housing expanded the site area to include three parcels located further east of Yesler Terrace between 12th and 14th Avenues. This area was studied to identify any environ- mental impacts of locating some replacement housing units there in the adjacent neighborhood.
The full site area is depicted by the bold black line on the site map above.
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Land Uses
A variety of land uses makes a neighborhood active and vibrant. Residents and office workers frequent local retail businesses. Users of all ages enjoy parks and open spaces. Reliable and frequent transit service discourages car use. The new Yesler Terrace community will include a mix of land uses and amenities.
Housing Low-income and affordable housing integrated with market-rate housing across the community
Parks Central park supplemented with pocket parks
Neighborhood Retail Retail scaled to the neighborhood to support resident needs. Centralized at core
Neighborhood Services Space for services located at the core of the neighborhood and along primary pedestrian arterials
Office Office most appropriate in northwest. Flexible program allows for single buildings or an office campus
Neighborhood Retail
Housing Parks and Open Space
POCKET PARK
POCKET PARK
POCKET PARK
NEIGHBORHOOD CENTRAL PARK
HORIUCHI PARK (EXISTING)
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RETAIL USES
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Office
OFFICE, MEDICAL SERVICES, LODGING USES
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Housing
The new Yesler Terrace community will include up to 5,000 units of housing (4.3M square feet). Affordable housing will increase from 561 units to 1801. The balance of the units on the site will be market rate. It is important that affordable buildings are not distinguishable from market-rate buildings. It is also important, and a key principle of the redevelopment, that the affordable units are equitably distributed across the site.
Housing types will include—
• Affordable ground-related units for large families (3–4BR) • Affordable, small family units (2BR) in mid-rise buildings up to 85 ft high (7 stories)
• Affordable one-bedroom units may be in mid-rise buildings or in high-rise buildings up to 160 ft (17 stories)
• Market-rate units may be in mid-rise buildings or in high-rise buildings up to 240 ft (26 stories)
• Up to a total of 11 high-rise residential buildings may be built, with a height limit of 240 ft, except in the southeast near Little Saigon, where the height limit will be 160 ft.
Common building elements Within multi-family buildings, there will be shared rooms or spaces that can help foster community while supporting the needs of the building’s residents. Qualities include—
• Entry courtyards to provide a transition space from the street and to allow neighbors to meet each other while gardening or sitting
• Building lobbies with gathering spaces to encourage meetings between neighbors as well as safe access to elevators
• Common areas on building floors to provide play areas and gathering spaces for residents with outside views, and possibly outdoor spaces for shared use
• Corridors designed to be home-like and non-institutional • Bulk unit storage on each floor to accommodate bikes, etc. • Rooftop patios and possible gardens to provide additional outdoor areas for the building’s residents and opportunities for urban gardening
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Parks & Open Space
The new Yesler Terrace community will include 15.9 acres of public and semi-private open space. Public parks will be a key feature of the healthy, active community; 6.4 acres will be dedicated to a central park at the core of the neighborhood and three other pocket parks will be located on the main circulation route.
There are four goals associated with the parks at Yesler Terrace, including—
Express a unique urban environment
• Create a dynamic and livable neighborhood through an interconnected network of green streets, parks and private open spaces
• Highlight the intrinsic natural qualities of Yesler Terrace – views, sunlight, topography, trees and connections to history and community
Build a healthy community
• Maximize social interaction through inviting and active year-round spaces
• Encourage walking and healthy outdoor activity through safe connections and a dynamic mix of uses and settings
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Serve all residents
• Support diverse needs of residents and visitors of all ages, cultures, incomes and abilities
• Provide safe and secure spaces by incorporating natural surveillance and other Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles
Grow a green urbanism
• Act as green infrastructure for stormwater management, microclimate moderation, air quality improvement and wildlife habitat
• Inspire environmental stewardship through exposure to green infrastructure, urban ecology and gardening
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Neighborhood Retail
RETAIL USES
RETAIL USES
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Neighborhood Services
Development at Yesler Terrace will include approximately 88,000 square feet of retail space. This retail is intended to serve the local residents and community. Restaurants, coffee shops and other neighborhood-oriented small-scale service establishments add to the vibrancy of the community, increasing foot traffic, street life and security.
The First Hill Streetcar station, at the core of the community, will be immediately adjacent to the majority of the planned retail space. The maximum allowable size of an individual retail space will be 25,000 square feet.
A strong complement of social services will be provided at the new Yesler Terrace. Space (65,000 square feet) to accommodate these services will be included in mixed-use buildings on the site. Page 17 of this Development Plan describes the array of services that will strengthen the social infrastructure of the community.
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Office OFFICE, MEDICAL SERVICES, LODGING USES
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The redevelopment of Yesler Terrace includes up to 900,000 square feet of office space. We anticipate this being accommodated in two high-rise buildings. The best location for this use is in the northwest area of the site, adjacent to Harborview Hospital and other taller buildings. The maximum building height would be 300 feet.
The most logical office uses, given the proximity to the major medical and educational institutions nearby, include medical office and global health.
Lodging associated with the nearby medical institutions, such as for families of patients, is also envisioned as a viable use on the site.
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MID-BLOCK PEDESTRIAN CONNECTOR
NEIGHBORHOOD CIRCULATION LOOP
PEDESTRIAN CONNECTOR TO JACKSON STREET
CONNECT 10TH AVE TO MAIN STREET
IMPROVED INTERSECTION
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Yesler Way and Broadway as main streets
• Yesler Way as community’s main street:
» Yesler as a pedestrian-friendly street
» Strengthen east/west connections to downtown and Squire Park
• Reinforce Broadway as a pedestrian- friendly connector to First Hill Streetcar stop at Yesler Way/Broadway intersection
Pedestrian Connections
Redevelopment will reconnect Yesler Terrace with its neighbors and create connections within the neighborhood that do not exist now. Green streets with widened sidewalks will create an inviting pedestrian environment.
Pedestrian pathways through the site will encourage visitors from Harborview who can enjoy the park spaces and neighborhood retail. The pathways will also connect residents to employment centers and services. A pedestrian staircase on 10th Avenue S will create easy access to and from Little Saigon.
Better neighborhood connections
• Internal green street loop links the entire neighborhood
• Harborview connection strength- ened by linking 9th Avenue S connection to core
• Little Saigon connection reinforced with 10th Avenue S pedestrian staircase
Two central themes for improving pedestrian connections are—
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Phasing Considerations
The full build-out of Yesler Terrace is expected to take 10–20 years. A number of considerations will influence the phased redevelopment of the neighborhood, including—
Infrastructure The cost to construct new streets, sewers, electrical grid and parks will influence how many and which blocks can be included in each phase.
‘Value added’ development Initial phases will help brand and add value to future phases of development. Where development starts, and the quality design it demonstrates, will establish expectations for the new Yesler Terrace neighborhood.
Minimizing disruption to residents Replacement housing will be built early in the process to accommodate relocation needs and minimize moves to permanent housing.
100 UNITS 6.3 ACRES
95 UNITS 3.9 ACRES
72 UNITS 3.0 ACRES
64 UNITS 2.0 ACRES
45UNITS 1.4 ACRES
103 UNITS 4.9 ACRES
42 UNITS 1.4 ACRES
XXX UNITS X,X ACRES
TOTAL UNITS REQUIRED TO BE DEMOLISHED TO CONSTRUCT THE FULL BLOCK ACREAGE OF THE BLOCK
40 UNITS 1.8 ACRES
New utilities infrastructure
Housing units and acreage by block
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Our commitment to residents
We will replace all 561 existing units – on site or within the immediate neighborhood – with modern, healthy, accessible and appropriate housing; We will make provisions for existing daycare businesses to continue to operate;
Residents living at Yesler Terrace at the start of redevelopment (those who remain in compliance with their lease) will be able to return; and
We will provide relocation assistance to all residents living at Yesler Terrace at the time of redevelopment.
Relocation & Right to Return
Seattle Housing is committed to minimizing disruption to residents from redevelopment. Already, residents have received the guarantee that they will receive 18 months’ advance notice before they will need to vacate their unit. Each Yesler household has been notified that they will have the right to return to the new community as long as they are in compliance with their lease.
Seattle Housing will work closely with each household to plan for and manage the details of relocation. The approach to relocation includes the following—
Offer many communication channels
• Community-wide relocation planning meetings • 1-on-1 counseling sessions • Relocation surveys to identify resident
preferences • Website providing regular updates • Articles in The Voice, Seattle Housing’s tenant
newspaper
Educate about choices
• Relocate to other Seattle Housing–owned public housing
• Use tenant-based Housing Choice (Section 8) Vouchers, if available.
• Receive assistance with rent differential for comparable unit for up to 42 months
• Receive a lump sum payment to residents to use as they wish
The redevelopment of Yesler Terrace will continue to present many opportunities for community participation. The formation of the Citizen Review Committee (CRC) was the first stage of community participation, bringing residents and other stakeholders together to plan for Yesler Terrace’s future.
Construction of the new community will present another significant community participation opportunity as residents and other low-income workers are trained for jobs helping to build the new neighborhood. Governance of the new community will also present important participation opportunities, from community associations to parks and open space management organizations.
Community planning involvement
• Citizen Review Committee continues throughout life of project • Yesler Terrace residents remain involved through their CRC
representatives, resident workshops, surveys and presentations to the Yesler Terrace Community Council
Construction opportunities
• Low-income worker (Section 3) training and hiring program • Low-income, women and minority business utilization goals • Apprenticeship, women and minority employment goals
Community governance structure
• Community associations bring residents together across income levels to share perspective on issues and a create a vision for the neighborhood
• Parks and open space management
Community Participation Plan
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Project Mitigations
On April 14, 2011 the City of Seattle and the Seattle Housing Authority issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Yesler Terrace redevelopment. The Final EIS analyzed the impacts of creating a dense urban neighborhood at Yesler Terrace and identified mitigations that could be implemented to address them.
Impacts can arise from construction activity as the new Yesler Terrace is built. Impacts can also arise from the resulting level of development. With the adoption of the Development Plan, Seattle Housing is identifying those mitigations that will be implemented. A comprehensive list of accepted mitigations may be found on the Seattle Housing website, www.seattlehousing.org.
Examples of impacts that require mitigation:
• Construction noise/dirt • Tree removal • Height, bulk and scale of buildings • Traffic • Glare from buildings • Resident relocation
Social Infrastructure
Seattle Housing has worked with the consulting firm Building Changes to identify programs and services most critical to the quality of life and opportunity for residents of the new Yesler Terrace community. These include— Wrap-around economic opportunity services and related support services such as case management, computer lab access, asset building and financial literacy services, vocational education and services to support small businesses to help them prosper.
A continuum of services to foster educational attainment and career building for children and adults, including early childhood education services, tutoring opportunities for children and youth, and opportunities for adults. These might include entry-level or college preparatory courses and training that result in certifications and/or degrees aligning with high-demand occupations, particularly in health care.
Youth-focused programming that cultivates learning, supporting, creating and having fun in a safe environment.
Centrally coordinated social and health services delivered through partnerships, and continuously evaluated and improved for effectiveness.
Resident-led and -driven community building activities such as affinity groups, a council, coordinating committee, campus events, services and programs.
Social infrastructure is the underlying frame- work that supports and facilitates the choice to access resources to achieve personal goals and the production and/or maintenance of the social interaction of a community.
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Sustainable Infrastructure
The redevelopment of Yesler Terrace presents an opportunity to demonstrate a wide range of environmentally friendly and innovative systems at the larger neighborhood, district and multi-block scale. Seattle Housing, as the single property owner, can test the application of these solutions beyond the individual parcel scale. The following features will be incorporated into the development:
Green Roofs Provide additional open space, opportunities for urban agriculture and decreased energy demands by reducing cooling loads.
Natural Drainage Green stormwater infrastructure for flow control, and water-quality treatment to the maximum extent feasible.
Tree Protection Protection of trees and attention to new tree planting to help manage stormwater, buffer noise, purify air and mitigate both carbon and the urban heat-island effect.
Urban Agriculture New P-Patch Community Gardens and rooftop gardens for residents to grow food.
Building Design Building design could integrate a wide variety of energy and water conservation, waste reduction and improved indoor environmental quality measures.
Transit In addition to the implementation of the First Hill Streetcar, which will travel through the heart of Yesler Terrace, the redevelopment will incorporate significant pedestrian and bicycling improvements for better access to and through the site. This will provide both residents and visitors with a variety of mobility choices.
Native Plants Landscaping with native plants could be used to reduce water demand.
Seattle Housing, with support from the City of Seattle, published a Sustainable District Study in December 2010 that assessed the viability of implementing different sustainable infrastructure systems as part of Yesler Terrace redevelopment. The study suggests that the following systems have merit and require further analysis. District Heat System On-site renewable energy sources could provide for the project’s energy needs with respect to electrical demand, space heating and cooling. At minimum, a system could be implemented that would reduce the project’s net annual electricity consumption by 25 percent while simultaneously lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Water Reuse System Reduction of both potable water demand and sewer discharge through onsite wastewater treatment could provide non-potable water for cleaning and irrigation.
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Funding Partnerships
The redevelopment of Yesler Terrace presents the opportunity to further many local government and regional goals, including—
• Smart Growth – adding residents and jobs in the right places • Neighborhood Scale Sustainability – seeking opportunities to
lower Yesler’s carbon and ecological footprint • Maximize public transit infrastructure investments • Create “complete streets” and walkable neighborhoods • Increase the stock of low-income and workforce housing
Achieving these goals will require partnerships between Seattle Housing and many different entities.
Seattle Housing has applied for $28 million in grant funding through the federal Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. Seattle Housing is one of six housing authorities nationwide selected to enter into Round Two of the grant screening process. Notification of grant awards will be made in September 2011.
Next steps While Yesler Terrace has been designated a Master Planned Community, this does not constitute final approval of the Development Plan. The Seattle City Council must adopt the following pieces of legislation before Yesler Terrace redevelopment may proceed:
1. Land Use Code amendment Includes maps and text describing the general location and size of proposed improvements at Yesler Terrace.
2. Memorandum of Understanding Identifies funding partnerships, further development require- ments and vesting limits.
3. Planned Action Ordinance Defines what constitutes a planned action and describes the mitigating measures required to offset the impacts of the planned action, based on analysis in the EIS. It also includes design standards that promote both internal consistency across the redevelopment area and consistency with surrounding neighborhoods.
Following approval of the legislation just described, Seattle Housing intends to identify a master developer and/or an equity fund to partner in the implementation of the Yesler Terrace Development Plan.
The process to identify these partners is expected to begin near the end of 2011 and result in a Partnering Agreement in the first half of 2012. Seattle Housing expects this opportunity to attract strong interest from both local and national parties.
Estimated costs and potential sources of funds, in millions
Adopted by the Seattle Housing Authority Board of Commissioners May 17, 2011
For more information, please contact
Anne Fiske Zuniga Senior Development Manager, Yesler Terrace Seattle Housing Authority (206) 615-3480 [email protected]
www.seattlehousing.org
