Seattle's Social Housing Developer has approved its first-ever new-construction project. The agency's board voted unanimously on Thursday to acquire the 7,800-square-foot property.
The project, called Central District House, is the agency's first new-construction project, following its acquisition earlier this year of the 150-unit Elara at the Market in Belltown. According to The Urbanist, Central District House is planned as a new-construction project. Interim CEO Tiffani McCoy said it will be built to passive house standards.
The parcel has a notable backstory. It belongs to the family of former Washington House Speaker Frank Chopp, who died in 2025, and is controlled by Nancy Long. McCoy also said Chopp was the first lawmaker to support social housing when House Our Neighbors ran its first initiative.
Plans for Filling the Building
The developer plans to use a community preference plan and what McCoy described as a robust affirmative marketing plan.
House Bill 1687 addresses city assistance with land or other resources for social housing. The Washington State Legislature lists the bill.
Money Is Flowing Faster Than Expected
Dedicated funding for the Seattle Social Housing Developer was established when voters approved Proposition 1A in February 2025, creating a 5% payroll tax on annual compensation over $1 million. The agency took in $115 million in its first year of collections, the report notes.
A separate accounting from The Stranger put last year's payroll-tax haul at $134 million. The Urbanist reported $115 million in first-year collections; the figures differ.
Elara's 10,000 Applicants and a Strategy of Buying First
The agency's first acquisition, Elara at the Market, is a 150-unit building on Western Avenue built in 2018. Axios reported the purchase price at about $60 million, while The Stranger reported $60.9 million; accounts differ on the exact final price. The agency's plan calls for converting 75 market-rate Elara units into affordable housing while leaving 45 at market rate, per Axios, and existing tenants will not be evicted; they'll instead get a two-year rent freeze, The Stranger reported.
Demand has been intense. More than 10,000 people applied for the first phase of rental units at Elara, The Urbanist reported, citing Real Change. Capitol Hill Seattle reported that the first 15 units will go to households earning no more than 30% of area median income, with expected rents ranging from $660 for a studio to just under $1,500 for a two-bedroom apartment. The outlet noted that a similar crunch played out in 2020, when more than 1,300 people applied for just 110 affordable apartments at the Station House development.
The agency's early strategy leans on buying rather than building, with the Elara purchase amounting to roughly $400,000 per unit, according to an earlier Urbanist report. Over the next six years, the developer plans to acquire or build 1,800 units total, The Stranger reported, with purchases of market-rate properties emphasized before new construction ramps up.
Leadership Changes Amid the Buildout
The agency's expansion has coincided with turnover at the top. Tiffani McCoy became interim CEO in January 2026 after Roberto Jimenez was fired by the SSHD board earlier this year. Mike Eliason serves as the developer's director of design and policy, according to The Urbanist's reporting.
