Archdiocese wants to help build housing for workers
Sunday, March 16, 2003 9:23 AM PST
By Sally Ousley
Printable version
E-mail this articleWOODLAND -- Construction of a $5.9 million housing project for farm workers may start in May if a city review of the project goes smoothly.
The Seattle Archdiocese last week applied to build a 51-unit residential apartment complex along with a recreation center and office building at 125 South Pekin Road, next to the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens.
The Archdiocese purchased the five-acre site for $425,000 last fall and announced plans for the housing project in October.
The Archdiocesan Housing Authority decided to build the complex based on interviews with farmers and recognition of a growing population of Latino farm workers in the Woodland area.
According to the 2000 Census, Latinos make up percent of the area's population, giving Woodland the highest percentage of Hispanic people in Cowlitz County.
The complex will be fenced and consist of eight buildings, with two-story townhouses and stacked flats in a configuration with four to nine apartments in each building. The ninth building will house a community room, a manager's office and a laundry room. An on-site children's play area and a covered picnic area also are included on the site. A Seattle architecture firm, Tonkin/Hoyne/Lokan Architecture & Urban Design, developed the project.
The Archdiocese estimates that between 220 and 260 people could live in the complex.
The Archdiocese's only residency requirement will be that each family's main income comes from farm employment.
According to Woodland Planner and Code Enforcement Officer Nancy Nersten, the city will review the plans and ask the Archdiocese for details, such as specific street and drainage improvements. Then the Archdiocese can apply for a building permit.
"We want to make sure we address all issues the city might have," Nersten said.
The project is permitted use in the in a high-density residential zone and no public hearings are required, but residents can submit written comments until March 26. Nersten said Friday that the city had not received any comments from the public about the proposal.
The Archdiocese must build street improvements along its property and limit the hours of construction from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays with no construction on Sundays.
The Archdiocese will pay for the Woodland project with Housing Trust Fund of the State of Washington and low-income housing tax credits.
The Archdiocesan Housing Authority is part of Catholic Community Services of the Archdiocese of Seattle, which calls itself the state's largest local private provider of assistance to the poor.
The housing authority developed a complex of 75 apartments for agricultural workers in Mount Vernon and Sedro-Wooley in Skagit County in 1999.
Past Month's Most Commented Stories