Seattle proposes record $349.5 million housing package; officials outline pipeline, Fort Lawton and Lake City timelines

The Seattle Office of Housing presented the Select Budget Committee with a proposed 2026 budget that would invest roughly $349,500,000 in affordable housing and expand the city’s role in an active pipeline of projects across the city. Michael Winkler‑Chin, director of the Seattle Office of Housing, told the committee the mayor’s proposed package includes $344,500,000 in the Office of Housing’s budget plus a separate $5,000,000 payroll expense tax allocation moved into Finance General for the Northgate Commons project.

The budget matters because it funds projects at varying stages of a long development cycle that the office says can span several years from award to final closeout. Winkler‑Chin told the committee, “The city is making record investments in affordable housing,” and described a process in which awards, legal obligation and construction often occur over multiple mayoral or council terms.

Office of Housing officials used a new slide to show the life cycle of projects from NOFA (notice of funding availability) through design, construction, lease‑up and final mortgage conversion. They emphasized that awards do not mean immediate spending and that many projects take three to six years or longer to move from award to drawdown of city funds. The office said there are projects with awards that could create more than 1,000 new rental homes and 143 permanently affordable for‑sale homes, and other projects already encumbered that will deliver more than 3,700 rental apartments and roughly 300 permanently affordable for‑sale homes.

Committee membe…