Once finished, 124 income-based apartments will be available for those in the community who qualify.
SEATTLE — This month, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will break ground on an affordable housing project.
Once finished, there will be 124 income-based apartments on the church’s sprawling property in Ballard. Church leadership said it will continue its commitment to the community.
Because St. Luke’s been in the community for 130 years, 100 of those in the same spot, Reverend Canon Britt Olson said it had a front-row seat to the challenges of the neighborhood.
“We’ve served meals here since the 80’s,” Olson said. “It’s a need in our community.”
In recent years, those they’ve served through Edible Hope Kitchen clued them in about another pressing need: affordable housing.
Olson said the process to get to a groundbreaking took years. They began by having conversations with all their community stakeholders.
“We spent a year listening, listening to our neighbors, listening to our partners on our property, listening to guests at our feeding program, listening to our volunteers, listening to the business community,” Olson said. “Ballard was becoming unaffordable, in particular for families and seniors being forced out of their apartments.”
After working with the city, designers, and service providers, St. Luke’s unveiled its plan. Over the next few years, all the existing structures on the property will be demolished. They’ll be replaced by two buildings: one will be dedicated to affordable housing for families and the other will be a mixed-use building with low-income housing.
The May 17 groundbreaking is for the eight-story, 84-unit affordable housing project with BRIDGE Housing. It will include several two and three-bedroom units to accommodate families.
“Providing housing for people who could otherwise not live here is the best way for us to love our neighbor,” Olson said.
Renderings and more detailed information about the structures can be found by reading the church’s FAQ.
An ambitious project requires money. St. Luke’s set a goal of $2.5 million. From its congregation, close to $1 million was raised. Community members gave close to $500,000. Considering people of all backgrounds told St. Luke’s they’d like to see them develop their sprawling campus into affordable housing, church leadership hopes the community will help them raise the remaining $1 million.
St. Luke’s plans to begin moving families into the 84 affordable apartments in 2025. The service provider FamilyWorks will be on site to support the families.
The mixed-use building that will house their new church is scheduled to open in 2026. It will include market-rate apartments and community event space.
By 2027, St. Luke’s hopes to provide affordable childcare on-site for families living in their housing.
