Imagine Housing, Habitat for Humanity outline mixed-income project for Kenmore parcel

Imagine Housing and Habitat for Humanity presented plans on Feb. 27 for a mixed-use affordable housing development on a city-owned parcel in downtown Kenmore, where the city intends to bring a purchase-and-sale agreement to the city council in March to transfer the land to Imagine Housing for development.

The developers described a two-building project on roughly 0.8 acres near Safeway and the adjacent manufactured-home community that would combine an Imagine Housing rental building of about 100–126 units with an 18-unit Habitat for Humanity for-sale building. Troy Droz, vice president of real estate development for Imagine Housing, said the rental building would include studios through three-bedroom units and that the design emphasizes 2‑ and 3‑bedroom homes to serve larger families. Droz said the team is aiming to provide as much parking as is feasible and that the project includes an underground parking level the team estimates could contain “80-ish to 90 spaces” in the lower level, plus surface and courtyard parking; earlier renderings and materials presented to the city showed different counts as the design evolved.

The city’s Tammy Cork, housing and human services manager, described how the property became available and the public process: the city purchased the lot in 2022, issued a request for proposals in August 2023 and in December 2023 selected Imagine Housing’s proposal. Cork said a letter of intent has been signed by the project partners and that the…