Affordable housing projects in Edmonds and Lynnwood are among 26 states receiving $17.5 million to fund utility connection fees and upgrades needed to connect them to municipal water and sewer systems, a the Washington State Department of Commerce announced Tuesday.
The funds will reduce the effective cost of development by approximately $8,000 for each housing unit, according to the announcement.
The City of Lynnwood will receive $1,440,817 for the Housing Hope project at Scriber Field, featuring 52 affordable housing units for families in the Edmonds School District. 52 affordable units
“Communities receiving grants have already made affordable housing a priority with local tax levies. This program supports and helps accelerate this work at a time when affordable housing projects across the state are facing significant cost increases,” said Lisa Brown, the state’s director of commerce.
The Connecting Housing to Infrastructure (CHIP) program allocates priority projects that include home ownership units under a community land trust, providing affordable housing in perpetuity.
Commerce provided funding for projects in 11 counties. They were selected from 44 applications received in the second round, including those not funded in the first round, and representing more than $40 million in applications.
Applications will soon open for a third round of grants to be awarded this summer. More information is available on the CHIP webpage.
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