A Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community will be built on a 7 acre-site, which is adjacent to Sound Transit‘s recently completed Operations and Maintenance Facility East (OMF East) in Bellevue, and also right across from its Spring District Link light rail set to open in 2023.
Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community to bring 280 affordable housing units
The Sound Transit Board of directors have approved key transaction terms for the construction of this Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community, which will be located on 120th Avenue Northeast, just east of the Audi dealership. Development plans for the project include about 500 residential units, out of which 280 units will be set aside for those earning between 30% to 80% of the area median income. Sound Transit and the city of Bellevue contributed an acre of land each to support this affordable housing project and each acre is valued at around $12 million. The project also covers the development of office spaces, ground floor retail space, residential amenities, and a public park spanning over 400,000 Square feet.
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Construction costs for developing the Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community are estimated at $500 million and it is expected that a minimum of $1.36 million would be generated annually; which will subsequently increase with adjustments in consumer price index as well as land value. According to the agreement terms, Sound Transit will receive profit participation of up to 1 percent from the gross sales earnings when the first office or market-rate house is sold.
The Sound Transit CEO, Peter Rogoff, mentioned that building this Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community would transform the Spring District/120th Station area by providing thousands of new homes and jobs, along with 280 units of desperately needed affordable housing. Rogoff also said that the development of this project, coupled with Sound Transit’s new maintenance facility and rail station will ensure that residents have access to opportunities on a light rail network, stretching from Redmond to Seattle to Lynnwood and Federal Way by 2024.
Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community project team
The development team working on Bellevue Transit-Oriented Community project include the San Francisco-based non-profit developer, Bridge Housing; Seattle-based Touchstone, the developers in charge of the commercial office component; and Essex Property Trust, the developers handling the market-rate housing. The project is expected to be built over the next decade.
