Evergreen Impact Housing Fund (EIHF) ensures housing options for working families in King County. We do this by targeting a persistent and growing gap in affordable housing funding. This makes it possible to finance more affordable housing more efficiently.
With the rapid pace of development in our region, rents have skyrocketed and the supply of homes for people with modest incomes has dwindled. Working-class people with modest incomes—critical workers like elementary school teachers, grocery clerks, and caregivers for the elderly—increasingly cannot afford to live here. Communities of color are hit hardest by rising rents, forcing many to move out of our region. But we have the power to change this situation. An innovative, targeted intervention like EIHF can boost the production of affordable housing and advance health, well-being, and equity in King County.
Evergreen Impact Housing Fund is expanding our portfolio of projects!
EIHF has invested in three projects that will provide 600+ units of affordable housing for working families in our region.
Solera was EIHF’s first project supported by a consortium of five local credit unions. Developer DevCo broke ground in August 2021 and the property is expected to welcome residents in early 2025. This mixed-income project in Renton consists of 550 multifamily units; half will be affordable housing units, 20% of which will be set aside for persons with disabilities.
Watershed is scheduled to open in early 2024 and will feature two- and three-bedroom units for families. Developed by GMD, Watershed will be located within walking distance of downtown Renton and Rainier Avenue. The property has a total of 145 affordable housing units.
Aries is a property in the Bitter Lake neighborhood of Seattle that features two- and three-bedroom units for families. Developed by the nonprofit Bellwether, there will be 40 units are dedicated to persons with disabilities. Bellwether and partners broke ground on the project in January 2022 and it is scheduled to open in 2023.
Watershed and Aries are supported through Microsoft’s $75 million contribution to EIHF.
SOLERA
- Renton
- 277 affordable housing units
- $11,100,000 EIHF loan
WATERSHED
- Renton
- 145 affordable housing units
- $10,800,000 EIHF loan
ARIES
- Seattle
- 200 affordable housing units
- $8,600,000 EIHF loan
Catalytic Investment Opportunity
Evergreen Impact Housing Fund provides catalytic capital to build more affordable apartments. Our investments:
- Ensure financial feasibility. We fill a financing gap to make more affordable housing projects possible. Without this intervention, these projects could not get built in our region or would be much smaller, leaving more families without housing.
- Counteract market distortions. Rents that working-class families can afford are not enough to incentivize developers with conventional financing options to build the affordable housing our region needs. EIHF uses a strategic infusion
of private funds to correct this distortion. - Complement established financing for affordable housing. We work alongside the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and the successful financing programs they run, complementing them with EIHF’s patient, low-interest capital. This leverages private capital to significantly boost production of affordable housing and leaves more public funding available for lower-income housing development.
- Advance positive outcomes for BIPOC communities. In partnering with the Commission’s Bond/Tax Credit program, EIHF encourages BIPOC developers and community-led developments to generate wealth and housing for communities of color.
How it Works
Evergreen Impact Housing Fund transforms investor equity into long-term, low-interest loans that make more affordable housing projects possible. We target investments to large-scale (200+ apartments), family-friendly projects. Increasing the scale of housing projects makes each unit more affordable, creating the opportunity to house more people more efficiently.
EIHF makes loans that fill the final 10-12% capital gap on these developments. Our projects are primarily financed with tax-exempt bonds issued by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and equity raised through the federal “4%” Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Alignment with proven financing streamlines our process, decreases risk, and achieves maximum impact for our investment.
Impact
Evergreen Impact Housing Fund will help thousands of people gain access to affordable housing in King County. We are providing affordable homes for decades, impacting generations of families.
- More than 8,500 people in 3,750 modest-income households over the next five years.
- Affordable for people in households earning less than 60 percent of local median income, or approximately $42,000-$65,000 per year.
- Investments today deliver new homes in two years and ensure they remain affordable for decades.
Investment Opportunity
With important foundational investments, we have momentum and are poised to make a tremendous positive impact in our community.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. provided support for initial research and development, with additional support from Tableau Foundation.
- BECU, Sound Credit Union, Washington State Employees Credit Union, Salal Credit Union, and Verity Credit Union invested in Evergreen Impact Housing Fund’s first fund.
- Microsoft has led with a $75M commitment to Evergreen Impact Housing Fund to support housing projects in Eastside communities.
Be part of the solution! EIHF will leverage your impact and dramatically improve the lives of thousands of working families.