Parkview Affordable Housing

Parkview's Affordable Housing Program was started in 1997 in response to the increasing cost of renting decent, safe and accessible housing by persons with developmental disabilities. As of May 2005, Parkview owns 49 homes throughout King County supporting over 150 extremely low-income people with developmental disabilities. Individuals pay only 30% of their income towards rent and that includes utilities. The average rent in the program is $153/month.

All the homes are developed to meet the unique needs of the people moving into them. Homes have such features as wheelchair ramps, roll-in showers, fire-retardant sprinkler systems, wider doors, and a fire alarm system dialed directly into the fire department.

Assistance with the day-to-day operating expenses comes from the State Division of Developmental Disabilities, and the Housing Authorities of Seattle, King County and Renton, in addition to the City of Seattle’s Operating and Maintenance Levy. Funding to acquire and remodel the homes comes mostly from public funders. In 2003 these funders were the Office of Community Development's Trust Fund; the King County Housing Finance Program; the Cities of Seattle, Auburn, Renton, Kent, and Shoreline; the Cities of Bellevue, Bothell and Kirkland through A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH); the Federal Home Loan Bank and Bank of America.

The day-to-day support services are provided by other non-profit organizations that are funded and have a contract with the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Some of the organizations providing services are: Seattle Specialized Residential Services, PROVAIL, Inglewood Tenant Support Services, Tahoma Hills, the ARC of King County, Camelot Society, Alpha Spring Meadows, Volunteers of America, Community Living Services, Puget Sound Residential Services, Creative Living Services, Integrated Living, and Life Skills of Auburn.