Sound transit’s office of land use planning & development transit-oriented development quarterly status report – Q1 2020
Introduction:
Sound Transit to provide quarterly updates on implementation of a regional equitable transit oriented planning & development (TOD) strategy. The TOD program is empowered by the voter‐ approved plan to create diverse, vibrant and mixed‐income communities around transit. To achieve these outcomes, Sound Transit offers its surplus properties—those acquired for building and operating the transit system but no longer provide a transit use to the agency—as development opportunities for affordable housing or other developments benefiting the public. Capitol Hill Housing has completed the Station House affordable housing development adjacent to the Capitol Hill Link station and part of the larger transit-oriented development project at that site. Station house is composed of 110 units of affordable housing at 60% Area Median Income (AMI) and below.
The project also includes community meeting space for the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The initial submittals of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Operations Maintenance Facility East (OMF East) TOD site closed on February 25. The RFP seeks a master development team that will deliver a mixed-use, mixed-income project and included portions of the property being transferred at no-cost for affordable housing components from Sound Transit and the City of Bellevue as well as affordable housing financial assistance from King County and A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH).
The adoption of Sound Transit’s Equitable TOD Policy (R2018‐10) in 2018, the agency began refining its process and guidelines to articulate how the agency uses its surplus property portfolio to implement the policy. Much of 2018 and 2019 were used to pilot ways to implement the policy and those lessons learned will be applied to the guidelines, as well as a strategic plan for the program. Guidelines are being developed for transaction requirements and development strategies for surplus properties.
TOD planning & development :
Following the adoption of Sound Transit’s Equitable TOD Policy in 2018, the agency began refining its process and guidelines to articulate how the agency uses its surplus property portfolio to implement the policy. Much of 2018 and 2019 were used to pilot ways to implement the policy and those lessons learned will be applied to the guidelines, as well as a strategic plan for the program. Guidelines are being developed for transaction requirements and planning & development strategies for surplus properties. The strategic plan for the TOD property portfolio is in scoping, expected to start work in 2020.
TOD Program Implementation:
Future Station Area planning & development :
A key aspect of delivering a regional equitable TOD strategy is ensuring that stations are located and designed in a manner that supports good land use and planning & development outcomes. To this end, OLUPD staff are embedded in capital project teams to lead station planning and urban design efforts during the project development and early engineering phases.
Revolving Loan Fund for Affordable Housing:
Sound Transit is directed by RCW to contribute $4 million a year for five years to support affordable housing in its district. To ensure the loan funds are used effectively, Sound Transit retained Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in July 2019 to work with Sound Transit in planning & development a business plan for implementing the program.
Conclusion:
Planning & development:
Sound Transit continues to work with local jurisdictions, affordable housing funders, community members, and development partners on its development approach and on specific planning & development opportunities. As the TOD program matures, Sound Transit is evaluating its role in advancing regional affordable housing outcomes and the tools available to achieve them. Sound Transit, with its affordable housing funding partners and local jurisdictions, is exploring how resources may be strategically aligned to streamline the development pipeline and support affordable housing outcomes throughout the region. Additionally, executive level staff at Sound Transit have agreed to serve on the regional Affordable Housing Committee to further advance partnerships and strategies.
Also Read: Socio-economic Status of Slum Dwellers: A Case Study of Uttara Periphery, Dhaka