Council staff flags Office of Housing PET shortfall, Northgate Commons transfer and $28M operating stabilization RFP

The Office of Housing’s (OH) 2026 proposed budget would shift $5 million in public‑equity‑tax (PET) capital from OH to Finance General for the Seattle Housing Authority’s Northgate Commons project, and council central staff warned that move may reduce OH oversight of the project.

Council central staff presented the budget and four policy considerations to the Select Budget Committee on Oct. 16. “The executive has stated that OH will not provide any ongoing compliance monitoring to this project once it is complete,” Jennifer Lebrecht, Council Central staff, told the committee, adding this would be “a significant departure from past practice” because OH currently provides compliance monitoring to roughly two dozen SHA projects it has funded.

Why it matters: the $5 million transfer is the first tranche of a planned $20 million city investment in Northgate Commons. Council central staff said moving PET to Finance General—rather than keeping it in OH—was the executive’s approach because a direct allocation to…