White Center HUB and new housing project aim to keep families rooted amid rising costs in Seattle

Seattle, Washington – A long-awaited affordable housing and community services campus in White Center will soon open, which will be a significant milestone for locals who have spent years pushing for development that takes into account their needs.

Alongside the White Center HUB, Community Roots Housing and the White Center Community Development Association will formally launch Canopy Apartments, adding more residences and services to the area.

• Saturday, January 24 | 11:30am-3:30pm | Ribbon cutting and grand opening
• Sunday, January 25 | 11:30am-3:30pm | Family, community, and resident day

The project offers 76 affordable homes to the neighborhood along 8th Avenue Southwest. The majority of the apartments are family-oriented, with two- to four-bedroom designs intended for people making between 30% and 60% of the local median income. In order to solve the region’s ongoing lack of extremely affordable, family-sized housing, about one-third of the residences are set aside for larger families consisting of four or more individuals.

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The housing is located close to the recently constructed White facility HUB, a two-story community facility designed to act as a hub for locals to congregate and receive services. The White Center Community Development Association runs the HUB, which unifies family, food, youth, and health services under one roof.

A medical and dental clinic, a commercial kitchen, a coffee shop, maker and creative spaces, a recording studio, and spaces for events and community meetings are all part of the complex. The purpose of outdoor amenities like a playground and common areas is to promote neighborly relationships.

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According to project leaders, the campus is the result of years of planning and organizing by White Center residents and employees. Instead of concentrating solely on housing, the objective was to provide a location where families could obtain necessary services nearby while preserving the neighborhood’s cultural identity in the face of King County’s escalating housing costs.

Since applications opened in October, there has been a significant demand for the new apartments. In January, only a handful of the apartments remained available, as the majority were either leased or already occupied. The response emphasizes the continued need for working families to have access to affordable housing options.

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The development also emphasizes the importance of long-term partnerships and public funding. From the beginning of the project’s conception, King County assisted local leaders in organizing and locating a location. With time, the land moved from temporary uses to a long-term location for community services and affordable housing, coordinating housing objectives with priorities for equity, health, and climate change.

On Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25, there will be an official ribbon-cutting ceremony. This will be followed by a community breakfast that invites neighbors and residents to join in the celebration. According to the organizers, the purpose of the activities is to open the area as a shared asset for White Center and to recognize the teamwork that went into the project.

The opening of Canopy Apartments comes after a busy year for Community Roots Housing, which added hundreds of affordable homes across the region and expanded its pipeline with new projects. In keeping with its larger focus on home stability, the organization also offered rent relief to households that were struggling financially.

The new campus is more than just one development for White Center. It serves as a clear illustration of what may occur when community involvement shapes affordable housing, matching new residences with services intended to support families in staying, developing, and maintaining their roots in the community.