Seattle Social Housing Developer
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 2, 2023 |
| Jurisdiction | Seattle |
| Headquarters | 419 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, Washington |
| Employees | 7 |
Agency executives |
|
| Website | seattlesocialhousing |
| Footnotes | |
| [1][2] | |
The Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) is a public development authority created to own and operate social housing in Seattle.
History
[edit]The Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) was created by ballot initiative 135 (I-135) in 2023. [3] The I-135 campaign was organized by House Our Neighbors, a coalition including Real Change and the Seattle Democratic Socialists of America.[4][5] House Our Neighbors chose not to include a funding mechanism in I-135 out of concern that creating a new public development authority and a new tax to fund it would violate Washington's single-subject rule.[6] It passed in a special election on February 14, 2023 with 57% of the vote.[7] On March 2, Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the initiative into law.[3] The first board meeting was held on May 24.[8] Although it was allocated $180,000 in startup funding by the state legislature, the State Department of Commerce did not issue the SSHD the first installment of that funding until March 2024.[1][6]
In 2024, House Our Neighbors launched ballot initiative 137 to fund the SSHD with a tax on companies with employees earning more than $1,000,000 a year.[9] It passed with more than 63 percent of the vote in a special election on February 11, 2025.[10] Although originally estimated to generate $50 million each year, the tax yielded $133 million in 2026. Interim CEO Tiffani McCoy announced that the agency planned to purchase 2 properties containing a total of 300 units in 2026 before transitioning to new construction.[11]
Governance
[edit]The Seattle Social Housing Developer is governed by a 13-member board. 7 members are appointed by the Seattle Renters' Commission, two by the City Council, and one each by the Mayor, King County Labor Council, Green New Deal Oversight Board, and a community organization providing housing to marginalized communities. Board members serve staggered four-year terms.[12][8] Once SSHD has begun to operate housing, the 7 seats appointed by the Seattle Renters' Commission will be filled by residents of the SSHD's buildings.[3]
Roberto Jiménez was hired to be the SSHD's first CEO in August 2024.[13] In December 2025, a number of community organizations authored a letter criticizing Jiménez's absence from meetings, failure to make progress on hiring staff, and decision not to relocate to Seattle as he had originally promised.[14] On January 14, Seattle Democratic Socialists of America called Jiménez "incapable of achieving even ordinary tasks" and called for his replacement.[15] The following day, the Board fired Jiménez and named Tiffani McCoy as his interim replacement.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Patrick 2023b.
- ^ SSHD 2026.
- ^ a b c Patrick 2023a.
- ^ Cohen 2022.
- ^ Bollag 2025.
- ^ a b Kroman 2024.
- ^ KC 2023.
- ^ a b McNichols, Denkmann & Gasca 2023.
- ^ McNichols 2025.
- ^ KC 2025.
- ^ Schneider 2026.
- ^ Granicus 2026.
- ^ Hamann 2024.
- ^ a b Kroman 2026.
- ^ Trumm 2026.
Bibliography
[edit]- Patrick, Anna (August 14, 2023b). "Seattle social housing developer sees first round of funding". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- Kroman, David (January 16, 2026). "CEO of Seattle's social housing developer fired by board". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- "Meet Our Team". Seattle Social Housing Developer. 2026. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- Cohen, Josh (May 26, 2022). "Seattle's social housing campaign, explained". Cascade PBS. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- "February 14, 2023 Special Election". King County. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- "February 11, 2025 Special Election". King County. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- Patrick, Anna (March 2, 2023a). "New 'social housing' developer becomes official, but when will it be funded?". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- McNichols, Joshua; Denkmann, Libby; Gasca, Noel (May 25, 2023). "'Real people being represented': Seattle's social housing board is just getting started". Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- Kroman, David (April 4, 2024). "Seattle's social housing developer struggles to take shape". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- Hamann, Emily (August 1, 2024). "CEO Roberto Jiménez leaving Mutual Housing California for social housing developer in Seattle". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- McNichols, Joshua (January 23, 2025). "Why someone earning over $100,000 could qualify for Seattle's affordable housing". KUOW. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- Schneider, Benjamin (April 14, 2026). "Social housing coming to Seattle this year". Remapping Debate. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- Trumm, Doug (January 16, 2026). "Seattle Social Housing Board Fires CEO, Taps McCoy as Interim Leader". The Urbanist. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- Bollag, Jordan (March 2, 2025). "Seattle Has Voted to Build Social Housing". Jacobin. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- "Seattle Social Housing Public Development Authority". Granicus. May 14, 2026. Retrieved May 14, 2026.