FAQ

Bothell Urban is what our team has been calling this vision since its inception in about 2018. Here is a quick summary.

Housing that is affordable to people with incomes below the Area Median Income (AMI)

• Bothell United Methodist Church determined to do something about the scarcity of housing in our region for people with lower incomes. Bothell UMC sold surplus land on Westhill to utilize that money in a location that would offer more flexibility, more density and be near transit.

Community Gathering Space

• People love, but don’t have enough indoor gathering spaces like the Hangar in Kenmore, or Third Place Commons in Lake Forest Park.

Access to Human Services

• The ground floor of a big project should be something accessible and approachable, and meet the needs of the community-at-large. Because of generations of being in this community, Bothell UMC knew that there is a lack of physical locations where people can walk in and get help when the needs arise. In addition, these agencies will offer some lease income to support the community gathering space.

Cafe

• Easy lunch places are always a hit, and a cafe space could offer some lease income to support a community gathering space. The team added this into the project with a desire that it not just be about the menu, but that it would also add something back to the community, something like special job training for employees who may need extra support.

All of this combined into a project called “Bothell Urban.” You can see more about each section in the FAQs below.

According to federal government standards, housing, including utilities, should cost no more than 30% of your total income. Generally affordable housing means that no matter your income, you are not spending more than 30% of it on housing.

However, the term “affordable housing” is often used interchangeably with “subsidized housing,” which can cause confusion. Many subsidized housing programs aim to make housing affordable (within the 30% of income for residents). But not all housing that is affordable, within a community, is subsidized. Some housing options are affordable due to market demands, not because of a housing program. And some subsidized affordable housing programs can cost more than 30% of a household’s income depending on circumstances.

The goal of this particular project is that the rental apartments will be affordable for those making 50 – 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). To do that, this will need to be subsidized by many sources.

Developers look for subsidies that come from many sources. Construction subsidies, most often in the form of a federal program called the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, mortgages with below-market interest rates, tax-exempt bonds, local loan funds, federal and state tax credits, federal grants or loans from programs like the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), local grants, land donations, contributions from charitable foundations, and deferred developer fees. All these sources are over-subscribed, meaning there isn’t enough money to fund all that is needed. So, these sources have competitive processes. In locales such as Bothell, land is at a premium and is much of the expense to the project. This is why local cities are using their surplus land to support these projects. Funders add points to applications for things like being supported by their local jurisdiction, partnering with local community organizations, and offering additional services. Applications with the most points are the ones that receive funding.

Funding from many sources is the way to assure that the apartments can be rented at rates that are affordable to people making 50-60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). In addition to funding for the apartments, funding needs to be raised to build and to operate the community space.

Bothell United Methodist sold surplus land for $1.4 million dollars to put into the project and will be one of the sources for the construction of the community space. BRIDGE Housing has many years of experience successfully obtaining the necessary funding. They will be seeking tax credits, low interest loans, and public financing from ARCH, county, state, and federal sources. Funders are more likely to fund projects that have strong support close to home. This is why support from the City of Bothell in as many forms as possible is key to the success of this project.

The vision for the community gathering space is similar to that of the Hangar in Kenmore, or Third Place Commons. Basically, an indoor space where all are welcome to come in and do things like meet their neighbors, work on their laptop, or have small meetings. Activating the space will happen with local artists, musicians or educational activities – even having local resource fairs and events!

Northwest Community Solutions (NWCS) is a newly formed, non-religious, non-profit agency that will operate the community space. NWCS was formed out of Bothell UMC to ensure that funding can be more diverse and community reach can be wider. You may be more familiar with this structure with organizations like Catholic Community Services, or The Salvation Army, two popular community organizations that were formed from churches. There will be more information forthcoming about NWCS as it grows.

When this project was first envisioned, this area had been called “a desert of human services.” From local resource fairs and human services groups such as the North Urban Human Services Alliance, it was learned that when people needed help, they simply didn’t know where to go. Since that time, video conferencing has become more popular, but there is still a need for person: person interaction and approachable, easy to find and access support systems. In addition, having a few offices leased to non-profit agencies at reasonable costs will offer some financial support for the community space to keep the doors open!

Recently, the cities of Kenmore and Bothell have participated in community-wide Human Services needs assessments. This project will aim to work with those results to offer space for agencies aligning with local needs.

Everyone loves a good cafe! For this project, the vision is that the cafe partner will not only have a great menu and be open most of the time, but that they are also a partner that offers more benefits to the community. This could be job training for people who have historically been difficult to employ, or it could be offering food to local food banks, or something else!

In addition, lease income from the cafe will offer some financial support for the community space to keep the doors open!

The Church will not have any financial gain by owning this land. The church should be the owner of the land for several reasons. There is a state law (RCW 35A.63.300) that allows affordable housing projects on religious-owned land a density bonus. This means that more housing can be built on this land, serving more people. In addition, funders for the development score each project to evaluate its merits, adding points to applications from developers who are partnering with community organizations, the church in this instance. Higher scoring applications are the ones that get the funding, since it is a competitive process. In addition, the owner of the land is the entity that will make sure this project happens.

Bothell United Methodist Church went to the city in 2018 for the first time to begin discussions about how to make this project a reality, knowing that the City was the owner of many parcels of land in the Downtown area. Bothell UMC went to the city council in April of 2021 with a request to acquire 12,000 square feet of the Civic Center Lot. Since then, as the needs and priorities of the city have become clearer, Bothell UMC persevered in conversations with City Council and staff (see project timeline).

Bothell United Methodist Church has been and will continue to be in this community and as a part of the community is heavily invested in this project’s success. Mayor Thompson explains it well in this video from a public study session at the June 25,2024 City Council meeting.

Bothell UMC put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to interview potential partners. Projects this large need partners with various skills and experience. Bothell United Methodist Church has a lot of experience in this community but does not have the experience to be a developer. Developers with experience building affordable housing projects are excellent at finding funding and partnering with the best construction companies for these projects, and operating the rental units to benefit their residents, but they look for partners with deep experience in building community that can offer increased community connections. This is why developers partner with community-based organizations.

After interviewing respondents to the RFP process, BRIDGE Housing was chosen because of their vast experience, shared values and interest in this project. You can read more about them on their website.

Projects of this magnitude can take up to a decade! This is because the developer needs to secure funding, permits, do feasibility studies, community outreach, and more. The timeline is hard to predict with exact accuracy, but once a purchase and sale agreement is signed, it is anticipated that design will begin in early 2025, permitting with the city will occur throughout late 2025 and early 2026, and construction would begin late 2026. Construction would take about 18 months and building completion would be estimated for summer of 2028.

Depending on grant funding in 2024 and 2025 this timeline could be increased by one year if additional rounds of funding are required to realize the project.

Here are some of the notable points in time, so far:

June 2024 - City Council gives direction to city staff regarding the Letter of Intent

July 2023 - City Council study session to direct City Staff on moving forward.

April 2023 - City Council requests an update.

May 2022 - City Council Meeting presentation about the disposition of Lot P South for this project and the changes since Sound Transit deferred.

July 2021 - Michael Katterman, Director of Community Development, and Jeanie Ashe, Economic Development Manager, present update to the City Council introducing the idea of Lot P South.

This will be a cool place to live in downtown Bothell on a transit line, within easy reach of the public library, shops and restaurants, festivals and Bothell Landing! The applications for residency at this BRIDGE Housing location are not yet open. Watch this space for more information in the future!

We are so glad you asked! There is an excellent “About Us” page on the Bothell United Methodist Church website, and you are invited to please spend time reading it.

Here’s a quick summary until you have time to read the whole thing.

Bothell UMC has been in this community since the late 1800’s and continues to be a church concerned with being a good neighbor. While the work of the congregation grows from a Christian perspective, there is no expectation that neighborliness be contained to the people of Bothell UMC, or Christians, or even United Methodists. The importance of neighboring is the impetus for the Bothell Urban Project.

The Bothell Urban project will have parking spaces for residents, and it will be less than a 1:1 ratio. This project will be on property currently called Lot P South, which is on a transit corridor. Bus Rapid Transit will run along 185th which is in front of the building. This is one reason why this location is so perfect for this residential project. BRIDGE Housing knows their residents and wants to make sure they have transportation options. Parking spaces are very expensive to construct, estimated at about $75,000 per space – that's a lot of money! It is the goal of this project to plan for a future where transit is readily available and encouraged as a more environmentally sustainable practice. Bike racks and carpooling will also be encouraged – as it is with our whole community. In addition, the managers of this project intend to work with the City and other local partners to facilitate more complete usage of already available parking spaces in the downtown area.

The plan also projects a few dedicated parking spaces for the community space, keeping in mind that a high density of residents in downtown Bothell are within an easy, walking or rolling distance and will gather there without driving a car.