Seattle Social Housing Developer outlines acquisitions, bonding strategy and staffing after charter‑mandated start

The Seattle Social Housing Developer presented an organizational and financial update to the Housing, Arts and Civil Rights Committee on Feb. 14, laying out staffing, governance, financing and production targets as the agency prepares to receive initial payroll‑tax proceeds.

Tiffany McCoy, the interim CEO, told the committee she was appointed at the January board meeting after the governing board removed the prior executive and is overseeing a rapid leadership transition ahead of incoming public funds. "Public trust is essential," McCoy said, describing steps to strengthen financial controls including hiring an interim chief financial officer and accelerating a permanent CFO search.

The presentation summarized the charter obligations created by Initiative 135 and the new payroll tax created by Initiative 137. City staff also noted the interlocal agreement (council bill 121153) requires the city to transfer 2025 tax proceeds to SSHD by March 2, 2026.

Ginger Siegel, SSHD’s chief real estate development officer, described a two‑track development approach: opportunistic acquisitions (shorter lead time, mostly studios and one‑bedrooms) and new construction to deliver more family‑sized housing. SSHD said its initial plan is to acquire roughly 300 units this year and to identify 2–4 new construction projects to produce about 180 units in the near term.

"We will initially fill vacancies with low income residents until the income mix is achieved," McCoy said, adding that the SSHD charter requires units to range from 0–120% AMI and forbids selling properties to private entities.

On financing, SSHD said its materials had conservatively assumed $50,000,000 in annual tax revenue but that staff recently learned the 2025 tax proceeds will be higher; the agency said it plans to issue a special tax revenue bond this year (a 10‑year structure was described) that could generate about $165,000,000 and would be repaid from tax proceeds rather than rents.

"We're going to be using tax revenue," Ginger Siegel said of early bond repayment plans. SSHD also flagged a potential unintended consequence in Initiative 135 (Charter Article 2) that some lenders view as limiting the agency’s ability to use property as collateral, and said it will bring possible charter language adjustments to the council if needed.

Committee members asked about leadership stability, how SSHD will use unexpectedly higher revenue, vendor and hiring priorities, and how acquisitions will protect existing tenants. McCoy said the board intends to run a permanent CEO search within six months, the agency has priority‑hire language in its charter and is incorporating those standards into procurement, and acquisitions will not displace residents — vacancies will be filled to achieve the targeted income mix.

SSHD’s five‑year production targets presented to the committee include acquiring roughly 1,000 units and building about 630 new units over that period, with the first bond and acquisition activity focused on quickly creating a pipeline of permanently owned, mixed‑income housing.

The committee thanked the SSHD team and requested follow‑up materials on revenue projections, bond timing and property and procurement policies. No formal council action on SSHD matters occurred at the meeting.