Park Lake Homes Residents Come Home to Greenbridge

One hundred eighty-five households, approximately 517 former residents of the ‘40s era public housing development known as Park Lake Homes, have moved into the new Greenbridge community. Of these first residents, 60% are families or individuals and 40% are seniors. Colorful, new, energy-efficient rental homes have replaced the barracks-style duplexes that formerly dotted the 95-acre site. Greenbridge is a new mixed-income master planned community that will ultimately consist of 1,000 homes for approximately 3,500 people. The welcome mat is out. “This is the moment we’ve been working towards,” said Stephen Norman, Executive Director of King County Housing Authority. “I join the Board of Directors, the staff of the Housing Authority and the development team in welcoming residents home.”

Seola Crossing is the first rental housing development in Greenbridge, consisting of 36 buildings located along 8th Avenue and west to 10th Place SW. The civic center of Greenbridge includes a plaza, a renovated community center, social services and four residential units with home-based businesses. The central street, 8th Avenue, is lined with wide sidewalks, street trees, bus stops and a gateway park at Roxbury. Five parks are interspersed among the residential units and a major trail runs east-west and crosses 8th Avenue. Public art projects embellish street corners, the trail, parks and several buildings. The leasing office for Seola Crossing and future rental buildings is located on 8th Avenue adjacent to the HOPE VI Family Services office. The entire development will be finished by 2012.

Relocation of 534 former Park Lake Homes households was completed September 2006. Relocated families had a variety of housing options including Section 8 vouchers, other KCHA public housing developments, non-assisted housing or buying a home. HOPE VI Family Services staff worked one-on-one with families to plan their relocation, identify housing and moving options and provide information on the relocation and redevelopment process. Eligible HOPE VI families were offered relocation choices in terms of geographic location and a majority of families chose to remain in the White Center/Boulevard Park area. Some households took advantage of the opportunity and used their Section 8 voucher to move out of state.

All Park Lake Homes residents eligible for relocation benefits and who remained in good standing with KCHA had the opportunity to return to Greenbridge. A lottery system was used to determine when eligible residents would return.

The HOPE VI Family Services team continues to provide supportive services to relocated families, such as case management, family stability support and referrals to employment or training.