Bothell council votes to donate downtown lot for affordable housing

At the July 16 meeting, the Bothell City Council voted 5 to 2 in favor of donating a downtown lot to Bothell United Methodist Church for affordable housing.

Bothell spent roughly $20.6 million starting in 2009 to buy 18 acres in downtown from the Northshore School District. Since then, the city has sold eight properties for more than $28.8 million. The city still owns a number of lots downtown including the 1.67 acre lot known as P-South a block from Pop Keeney Stadium.

As previously reported, instead of selling P-South for a profit, the city intends to donate the land to Bothell United Methodist Church (BUMC) to be developed into affordable housing.

According to the plan, BUMC will lease the land to BRIDGE Housing (the developers building affordable housing at the Northgate Transit Station). The building will have 200 units of affordable housing, human services, job training, and community space.

Mayor Mason Thompson spoke in support of the project. “Over 99 years, 200 units: this will help thousands of people with one of the biggest needs we have in our community… And it will make Bothell a more welcoming city, a more vibrant city,” he said. “I’m really excited to see this project in the ground because I think this is the kind of impact that's worth us investing in. Especially when it's with a local partner that has been around since before Bothell was Bothell,” said Thompson.

Council member Jeanne Zornes opposed the donation. “We've been told that there is interest in buying this property for $10 million. This is a generous give from the city and I have heard no gratitude, no ‘thank yous,’” she said.

Council member Benjamin Mahnkey also voted against the proposal over concerns the project would take too long or fail. “A five year timeline for shovels to hit the ground does concern me a lot. It's going to be an empty vacant property in its current state during this time. There's no guarantee that funding will be obtained.”

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