Atrium Court will bring 271 affordable apartment units to the Othello Neighborhood with support from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.

Financing includes a $15 million investment from an investment vehicle jointly sponsored by CEI-Boulos Capital Management and Allivate Impact Capital and $16 million in low-interest debt from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.

Seattle, WA. – December 21, 2023 – Housing Diversity Corporation, the lead construction developer for Atrium Court, announced today that they have attained financing to start construction on the eight-story, mixed-use housing development located in Seattle’s Othello neighborhood. Construction is anticipated to start next month, January 2024 with completion estimated in mid-2026.

The transit-oriented project is located one block from the Othello Link Light Rail Station and will feature 271 apartments, all priced to be affordable for individuals and families earning between 50% and 80% of area median income (AMI).

The project received $16 million from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, as a low-interest loan, to ensure that all 271 apartment homes will be income restricted for 99-years.

“Atrium Court is a great example of leveraging private capital and collaboration to build affordable apartment housing,” said Senthil Sankaran, Managing Principal, the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. “It models how the private sector can help build long-term, attainably priced housing and is the type of project that our Housing Equity Fund was created to support. To date, Amazon has invested nearly than $550 million to create or preserve more than 5,500 units in the Puget Sound region.”

The project team is also partnering with an investment vehicle jointly sponsored and managed by Allivate Impact Capital and CEI-Boulos Capital Management, which closed on a $15 million investment, as the single largest and majority equity investor in the project.

“Our fund is committed to harnessing the Opportunity Zone incentive to serve its intended purpose – to help revitalize historically underinvested communities like Seattle’s Othello neighborhood,” said Sam Spencer, CEO and Managing Director of CEI-Boulos Capital Management. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Allivate Impact Capital and Amazon Housing Equity Fund to support this socially and environmentally impactful project that will provide transit- oriented affordable housing to residents of this rich multi-cultural community.”

“In 2019, we set out to perform on the goals of the Opportunity Fund Zone legislation by investing in under-developed communities,” stated Brad Padden, Founder & CEO of Housing Diversity Corporation. “Collaborations such as Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund are critical in getting these important projects across the financing finish-line.”

“In 2023, the City of Seattle had a reduction of 60% of new apartment application permits in comparison to the peak of 2021. A lack of new supply will only further increase the high cost of in-city living,” concluded Padden.

Atrium Court also includes 2,344 SF of ground-floor retail. The project team includes: Nitze-Stagen as a development partner, STS Construction as the General Contractor, Neiman Taber Architects; Quantum Engineering as the Structural Engineer; Sitewise as the Civil Engineer; KKLA (Karen Kiest Landscape Architects) as the Landscape Architect.

Images: Renderings created by Neiman Taber