BREMERTON — Kitsap Community Resources (KCR) has been awarded $6.3 million from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Rapid Capital Housing Acquisition program for its Mills Crossing project to turn the 36-unit townhomes in East Bremerton into low-income affordable housing.
The Department of Commerce announced recipients of the grant on Thursday, with Mills Crossing listed as one of the 13 affordable housing projects funded and the only recipient located in Kitsap County. Another Kitsap project, Eagle’s Wings B&B, applied by local nonprofit Eagle Wings Coordinated Care in Bremerton, was waitlisted.
Due to limited funds, often eligible projects were put on the waitlist and could receive future funds should they become available, said Department of Commerce spokesperson Penny Thomas.
Securing the $6.3 million state fund means KCR will move forward to purchase and acquire Mills Crossing, said KCR Executive Director Tony Ives. Kitsap County has committed $2 million and the City of Bremerton has $500,000 from the county’s and the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funding to support the project. Washington State Legislature is also among the funders, but Ives didn’t reveal the amount of money that could come from the Legislature.
Mills Crossing was first built as a market-rate development project and was described as luxury townhomes by its developer, Tacoma-based real estate company Harbor Custom Development, Inc.
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The sales price of Mills Crossing for KCR would be $14,250,000, Harbor Custom Development said in a statement in late February.
The property will close at the end of April, if not earlier, Ives said. The affordable housing project will provide housing for 140 to 170 people and families in need have been identified. In addition, Bremerton Housing Authority has recently authorized 18 project-based vouchers for use in this project, according to Ives.
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Despite the foreseeable change of ownership in the future, current tenants living in the townhomes will not be asked to relocate, Ives said.
“People can stay and they can renew the lease when the lease is up if they want to renew it,” Ives said. “We won’t force anyone out.”
As of Friday, the rent for a 2-bedroom unit (1,424 to 1,444 square feet) at Mills Crossing ranges from $2,200 to $2,800, according to rental listing website, Apartments.com.
The Mills Crossing project, located at 1003 Little Haven Lane and close to the Kitsap Transit bus transfer center on Wheaton Way, was developed in partnership with the county’s Department of Human Services and Bremerton Housing Authority, said Ives.
The purchase of the project is a result of joint efforts made by the newly-established Kitsap County Affordable Housing Task Force, a group that aims at developing a pipeline of housing projects in Kitsap and collaborating to get funding for all projects in the county, instead of competing with each other for limited resources.
The task force currently has over 100 participants from community organizations to financial institutions and local government officials, according to Ives.
More:Community leaders establish task force to create more affordable housing in Kitsap