By TIMOTHY SCHUMANN | THE CENTER SQUARE
King County has spent $11.6 million on a property in Seattle to house the homeless.
The property in question resides at 1010 East Republican Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and stands on a 0.07 acre lot that is made up of two parcels, according to King County property records.
The $11.6 million means roughly $322,222 per unit for the 36 unit building, which is a substantial increase over the $8.9 million appraisal valuation.
Contrast this with a recent sale between two private parties, such as 915 E Harrison Street a mere block away, which sold for $7.05 million, or roughly $163,953 per unit for the 43 unit building. This is actually $6.7 million below its total appraised value of $13.8 million.
This purchase is the latest to use funds from the Health Through Housing Measure which “aims to house up to 1,600 people experiencing chronic homelessness,” which passed the King County Council unanimously in December of 2021.
“The plan anticipates expending $333.7 million for capital financing and site improvements, $309.5 million for emergency and permanent supportive housing operations, $67.2 million for behavioral health services outside of Health through Housing sites, $3.7 million to build capacity of agencies who represent communities disproportionately experiencing chronic homelessness, and $5.5 million for evaluation and performance measurement,” according to the county’s website.
According to the program website, properties will also include 24/7 onsite staff, case management, employment counseling, and access to health and behavioral health services.
The timeline for the property opening to residents at 1010 East Republican is unclear, and the King County Department of Community and Human Services did not immediately reply when asked for more information on the matter.
It’s called legal money, laundering tax dollars going to rich friends of politicians. This is going to happen in Anchorage and probably already is. Again, the taxpayer gets taken to the cleaners because they don’t care. As long as there is so much money in the economy nobody will care. When everybody’s scraping for a dime to get by, then maybe they will pay attention and vote correctly. Why do taxpayers so willingly let politicians steal and launder their money?
“Why do taxpayers so willingly let politicians steal and launder their money?”, said Mark, who lives in the most lightly taxed state in the entire country.
Are you are you jealous dog? I pay taxes, and the way the state is set up the minerals pay taxes. I stand by what I said, and you can go bark of a tree. Do you know full? Well, there is money, laundering, and stealing and lying going on with politicians. If you’re in denial, and nobody can help you. Maybe you should move to a high-tech state like California or New York. Come on dog you gotta have a better argument than that.
Said mark.. the man from the state that sucks federal tax dollars up just as fast as they can. And always has their hands out for more
Lightly taxed or not. When politicians spend taxpayer money on things that do not benefit the taxpayer, while ignoring the things that do, it is wrong.
Does not matter whether the tax rate is low or high.
Nobody paying property taxes in the municipality of Anchorage is lightly taxed.
Leftists, putting the wants of the homeless before the needs of the taxpayers.
Coming to an Anchorage near you.
Enriching a few under the guise of homelessness eradication. More lies and graft on the left, defrauding those working and earning out of their hard earned money.
Homelessness is one of the nation’s only growth industries.
Be careful who you disparage. It’s dangerous to tempt Fate, who may be lurking just around the corner for any of us.
Maybe it is for you, but those of us who are adults and take their finances seriously are not in your boat. Do not make assumptions about the rest of the population.
Serious illness, fire, earthquake, Covid, stock market crashes, layoffs, war – no one is immune from Fate. Sorry.
I am.
Diversification, cash reserves, self sufficiency, no debt.
If an earthquake destroys my home and possessions, I am good. If the stock market crashes, I am protected. If war happens, and the fighting is happening in my front yard….well, that might be a problem, but I have the resources to survive without having to rely on handouts from the State.
.
This attitude that homelessness is just around the corner for any of us is a crock. It is indicative of a lack of education, a lack of self reliance, and a lack of responsibility.
Bill Clinton, 1996, under overwhelming political coercion by the Republican Revolution:
“Today, we are ending welfare, as we know it.”
Welcome to the newest form of communism.
“Chronic homelessness” …that sounds like an awful affliction. How do you catch that? That’s right, by mismanaging your life so badly that you end up unable to pay your own way through life and become a burden on everyone else. Don’t worry, though, the government is there to take what we’ve earned to pay your way through life because that’s how “good” people respond to those in need – they get the government to do the dirty work of robbing us. I wonder if the on-site staff will include a drug dealer and needle exchange? Maybe free beer and wine too? Why not…we’re paying for everything else for these beggars.
So apparently the liberal misdeeds of the Anchorage Assembly no longer provide adequate fodder for the conservative set, and MRAK is forced to go further afield for material to satiate its voracious readers.
At least Seattle’s local government has its s$&t together enough to do something instead of following Anchorage’s example of endless war between the Assembly and the Mayor, while the frozen bodies pile up outside.
Let’s use your logic in your direction
You are not conservative. You established clearly yesterday you’re not Christian. You seem to be pro government interfering in the lives of people.
We’re not.
So using your logic, why are you here?
Why do you care the opinions of a right of center blog?
Because I (rather foolishly) hope to cause people to reconsider their conservative dogma, and bring them around to a more liberal mindset. Or in other words, to undergo the same conversion that I experienced, after spending over 50 years as a Christian right-winger.
So you were brainwashed that’s what’s wrong with you. Well, you should move down to one of those lovely cities that you like so much. You’re a lonely dog with no tree to water.
Don’t confuse senility with a worthwhile conversion of some sort, Whidbey.
You’re merely doddering and you’re imagining things.
Nurse! Please bring the old fool a fresh change of diapers and turn off the Oprah reruns he’s become obsessed with. He reeks and he’s soiling his decaying mind.
If you were actually liberal in the slightest, you would be OK with right wing Christians being right wing and Christian.
You are not. You spend a measurable amount of your time on MRAK demonstrating that. Clearly, and repeatedly.
.
What do you call someone who thinks they are liberal, but they refuse to let others live their lives without interference? Hypocrite? Intolerant? Anything but liberal.
I’m pretty sure that the word “Evangelical” in Evangelical Christian implies the desire – no, duty – to convert others. I’m simply trying to do the same thing, only in the opposite direction. Of course I agree that people are entitled to their own opinions, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to change them. Sorry.
“… I’m simply trying to do the same thing, only in the opposite direction.”
So, you are an evangelical liberal? That is an oxymoron by any definition of the word.
.
If you want anyone to consider you as a liberal, you need to stop trying to change other people’s behavior to suit your world view. Otherwise, you are a liar, hypocrite, and not liberal at all.
No, both Anchorage and Juneau love Seattle and use them as a template for their operations. What’s going on is that a connected Liberal owns a dilapidated building. They can sell said building to King Co. and not only make a windfall, the derelict building will no longer their liability. Taxpayers will foot the bill for renovations.
Similar to the Golden Lion Hotel and the Aviator Hotel in Anchorage? They didn’t buy the Aviator but the owner made a windfall off of vouchers for the homeless and it is now being renovated as an upscale hotel for tourists just before tourist season. The Golden Lion was purchased and needed extensive repairs made to it.
And the Alex Hotel and the Sockeye Inn and soon the Barrett Inn.
This is a foreshadowing of what is coming to Anchorage if the Assembly continues to place the wants of the homeless before the needs of the taxpayers.
Actually this is about exactly what Juneau city government has been paying per apartment in recent years to build apartments for the homeless. Society cannot provide all the disincentives to people working like SNAP, WIC, Medicaid and the like without budgeting to provide housing for the same people. If you pay people to not work then you have to expect that they need free housing: where do you expect them to live? If they did take a job to pay for their housing then all those other benefits for food, health care, etc. could be jeopardized! If you think these people are going to work to support themselves, and to pay taxes on top of that then you’re crazy and may qualify for free housing. In King County the indigents need not be “held harmless” from the PFD but in Juneau they do, reducing your PFD of course.
The only joy from this is that the bums have to declare their street address as Republican St.
There are proposals to shut down the King County Jail. Besides, they can’t find workers anyway. The commute is too dangerous.
San Fran spends approx $60,000 per homeless person per year.
I understand Seattle is more like $150K.
It’s a brand new building: ‘https://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty/pictures.aspx?ParcelNbr=6852700478&View=1. It was owned by developers, Robert Yeh and Raymond John Maclean via Prescott Builders LLC.
So how does this compare to Anchorage?
Anchorage has spent way more than $11M on buildings for the homeless.
I won’t poke around in the affairs of our neighbors. But by all appearances, there is money to be had and people use. Some “combine” is at work doin’ good and feelin’ fine!
Edit: “[T]here is money to be had and people to use.”
Comments are closed.