Supportive housing buildings and their cost per apartment

What this dataset measures

Permanent supportive housing gives formerly homeless people an apartment with on-site services. The Washington State Department of Commerce publishes every application to its Housing Trust Fund with the project's estimated total residential development cost and its count of supportive housing units, and its annual cost data reports list final costs for finished buildings. These are the only public, project-by-project totals we found; the City of Seattle's reports give only the City's share. We kept every Seattle new-construction application from 2021 to 2025 in which all apartments are supportive housing.

Geography

Seattle, Washington, United States, King County, Washington, United States

Unit of observation

One building (project), with its cost per apartment

Update cadence

Yearly, when Commerce posts a new application list or cost report

Curator

FactHub Research Team

Curated data tables

Supportive housing buildings and their cost per apartment

Planned and finished supportive housing buildings in Seattle and nearby cities, and buildings King County bought for its Health Through Housing program.

Unit of observation: One building

psh_projects.csv text/csv · 5.2 KB (5,355 bytes)

All 27 rows 16 columns Download the file

All 27 rows

project_id	name_as_listed	sponsor	city	category	year	units apartments	total_cost_usd U.S. dollars	acquisition_per_unit_usd U.S. dollars per unit	rehab_per_unit_usd U.S. dollars per unit	cost_per_apartment_usd U.S. dollars per apartment	cost_per_residential_sqft_usd U.S. dollars per square foot	value_kind	status	source_id	note
desc-greenlake-2021	DESC Greenlake	DESC	Seattle	planned_new	2021	124	47208490	—	—	380714	—	estimated	—	htf2021	Application estimate; 124 of 124 units supportive; activity NC
desc-woodland-2021	DESC Woodland (2021 application)	DESC	Seattle	planned_new_superseded	2021	100	37921206	—	—	379212	—	estimated	—	htf2021	Earlier estimate for the project that re-applied in 2023; not used in medians
desc-15th-ave-2022	DESC 15th Avenue	DESC	Seattle	planned_new	2022	105	42043088	—	—	400410	—	estimated	—	htf2022	Application estimate; 105 of 105 units supportive; activity A,NC,RED
desc-lake-city-2023	DESC Lake City	DESC	Seattle	planned_new	2023	120	48193297	—	—	401611	—	estimated	—	htf2023	Application estimate; 120 of 120 units supportive; activity A,NC
desc-woodland-2023	DESC Woodland	DESC	Seattle	planned_new	2023	95	49825258	—	—	524476	—	estimated	—	htf2023	Application estimate; 95 of 95 units supportive; activity NC,RED
desc-belmont-2024	DESC Belmont	DESC	Seattle	planned_new	2024	120	59344428	—	—	494537	—	estimated	—	htf2024	Application estimate; 120 of 120 units supportive; City 2024 report: new construction of PSH
plymouth-whittier-2025	Whittier Housing	Plymouth Housing	Seattle	planned_new	2025	90	46054745	—	—	511719	—	estimated	—	htf2025	Application estimate; 90 of 90 units supportive
plymouth-kenmore-2022	Kenmore Supportive Housing	Plymouth Housing	Kenmore	planned_new_suburb	2022	100	42683529	—	—	426835	—	estimated	—	htf2022	Application estimate; outside Seattle
plymouth-norkirk-2024	Norkirk Supportive Housing	Plymouth Housing	Kirkland	planned_new_suburb	2024	100	58505548	—	—	585055	—	estimated	—	htf2024	Application estimate; outside Seattle
plymouth-redmond-2024	Redmond PSH	Plymouth Housing	Redmond	planned_new_suburb	2024	100	54843062	—	—	548431	—	estimated	—	htf2024	Application estimate; outside Seattle
desc-22nd-ave-final	DESC 22nd Avenue PSH	DESC	Seattle	completed_new	2022	85	—	—	—	325422	537	observed	—	cost2022	Final cost, fiscal 2022 report; population Homeless
hobson-place-final	Hobson Place	DESC	Seattle	completed_new	2023	92	—	—	—	583520	511	observed	—	cost2023	Final cost, fiscal 2023 report; population CMI, MSN
csc-housing-final	CSC Housing	Chief Seattle Club	Seattle	completed_new	2023	80	—	—	—	356813	778	observed	—	cost2023	Final cost, fiscal 2023 report; population H (homeless)
desc-bitter-lake-final	DESC Bitter Lake	DESC	Seattle	completed_new	2023	100	—	—	—	301744	551	observed	—	cost2023	Final cost, fiscal 2023 report; population H (homeless)
yancy-street-final	Yancy Street PSH	Transitional Resources	Seattle	completed_new	2023	44	—	—	—	365601	709	observed	—	cost2023	Final cost, fiscal 2023 report; population H (homeless); report gives county only; 2800 block of SW Yancy St, West Seattle (Transitional Resources), 44 studios
kent-psh-final	Kent Permanent Supportive Housing	—	Kent	completed_new_suburb	2022	80	—	—	—	308082	511	observed	—	cost2022	Final cost, fiscal 2022 report; outside Seattle
hth-dons-place	Don's Place	Compass Housing Alliance	Auburn	county_purchase	2024	—	—	148498	32253	180751	—	observed	Open and occupied	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-sharyn-grayson	Sharyn Grayson House	Lavender Rights Project	Seattle	county_purchase	2024	—	—	363611	7854	371465	—	observed	Pre-occupancy	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-booker-house	The Booker House	The Urban League	Federal Way	county_purchase	2024	—	—	270381	3719	274100	—	observed	Pre-occupancy	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-kirkland	HTH Kirkland	Plymouth Housing	Kirkland	county_purchase	2024	—	—	278198	17492	295690	—	observed	Pre-occupancy	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-haven-heights	Haven Heights	Salvation Army	Redmond	county_purchase	2024	—	—	280763	17762	298525	—	observed	Pre-occupancy	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-mary-pilgrim	Mary Pilgrim Inn	DESC	Seattle	county_purchase	2024	—	—	206913	16020	222933	—	observed	Open and occupied	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-salmonberry	Salmonberry Lofts	Chief Seattle Club	Seattle	county_purchase	2024	—	—	314809	41727	356536	—	observed	Open and occupied	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-sidney-wilson	Sidney Wilson House	Catholic Community Services	Renton	county_purchase	2024	—	—	267403	19801	287204	—	observed	Open and occupied	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-argyle	The Argyle	TBD	Seattle	county_purchase	2024	—	—	305240	0	305240	—	observed	Project scoping	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-bob-g	The Bob G.	Catholic Community Services	Seattle	county_purchase	2024	—	—	206408	0	206408	—	observed	Major rehabilitation	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024
hth-gateway	The Gateway	DESC	Seattle	county_purchase	2024	—	—	362643	15479	378122	—	observed	Open and occupied	hth2024	Acquisition plus rehabilitation per unit, life to date through 2024

16 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
project_id	string	Our identifier for the row	—	derived
name_as_listed	string	Project name as the source lists it	—	observed
sponsor	string	Nonprofit developer or service provider	—	observed
city	string	City where the building is	—	observed
category	string	planned_new (Seattle, all units supportive, new construction), planned_new_superseded (an earlier estimate for a project that re-applied), planned_new_suburb, completed_new (final cost, Seattle), completed_new_suburb, county_purchase (bought by King County)	—	derived
year	integer	Application year for planned buildings; report year for finished buildings and county purchases	—	observed
units	integer	Total low-income units (planned) or total units (finished)	apartments	observed
total_cost_usd	number	Total residential development cost (estimated) for planned buildings	U.S. dollars	estimated
acquisition_per_unit_usd	number	County purchase cost per unit, life to date	U.S. dollars per unit	observed
rehab_per_unit_usd	number	County rehabilitation cost per unit, life to date	U.S. dollars per unit	observed
cost_per_apartment_usd	number	Cost per apartment	U.S. dollars per apartment	derived
cost_per_residential_sqft_usd	number	Final cost per residential square foot (includes common areas and parking)	U.S. dollars per square foot	observed
value_kind	string	estimated (application) or observed (final or recorded cost)	—	derived
status	string	County building status at December 2024	—	observed
source_id	string	Source of the row's figures	—	observed
note	string	Details and caveats for the row	—	observed

Supporting files

Source snapshots, manifests, quality reports, documentation, and other materials used to produce or review this release.

• build.py Transformation manifest · text/x-python · 10.2 KB (10,486 bytes)

  Python script that writes the three tables from the transcribed figures and computes every median.

Sources

1. Washington State Department of Commerce, list of 2021 Housing Trust Fund and Cottage applications Estimated cost and supportive housing units for DESC Greenlake and DESC Woodland (2021)

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Commerce runs the state Housing Trust Fund and posts every application it receives. Costs are the applicants' own estimates.

2. Washington State Department of Commerce, list of 2022 Housing Trust Fund applications Estimated cost and supportive housing units for DESC 15th Avenue and Plymouth's Kenmore building (2022)

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Posted by the agency that runs the fund. Costs are the applicants' own estimates.

3. Washington State Department of Commerce, list of 2023 Housing Trust Fund applications Estimated cost for DESC Lake City and DESC Woodland, and for 15 Seattle affordable buildings with no supportive housing (2023)

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Posted by the agency that runs the fund. The list also gives each project's activity type, such as new construction (NC).

4. Washington State Department of Commerce, 2024 Traditional Housing Trust Fund Applications Received (NOFA #MHU-2024-02), updated 11/08/2024 Anticipated cost and supportive housing units for DESC Belmont, Plymouth's Norkirk and Redmond buildings (2024)

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Posted by the agency that runs the fund; column 'Anticipated Total Residential Development Costs'.

5. Washington State Department of Commerce, list of 2025 Housing Trust Fund applications Anticipated cost and supportive housing units for Plymouth's Whittier Housing (2025)

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Posted by the agency that runs the fund. Costs are the applicants' own estimates.

6. Washington State Department of Commerce, 2022 Housing Trust Fund Affordable Housing Cost Data Report Final cost per unit for DESC 22nd Avenue PSH (Seattle) and Kent Permanent Supportive Housing; definition of total residential project cost

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Required by state law (RCW 43.185A.190). Built from final cost certifications that funded projects submit to Commerce.

7. Washington State Department of Commerce, 2023 Annual Affordable Housing Cost Data Report Final cost per unit and per square foot for four Seattle supportive housing buildings; King County median for all state-funded new buildings

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (Washington State government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Covers projects that submitted final cost data from July 2022 to June 2023. Commerce notes that only 26% of awardees had submitted cost certifications.

8. King County, 2024 Health Through Housing Annual Report (Attachment A to Motion 16910) Per-unit acquisition and rehabilitation cost for each building the county bought, each building's city and status, average capital and operating cost

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (King County government). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. Written by the county department that runs the program, for the County Council. Costs are the county's own accounting, not audited figures.

9. BAE Urban Economics for the Portland Housing Bureau, Residential Development Cost Study Summary (January 30, 2024) Estimated full cost per unit of a typical new six-story apartment building in Seattle

   Retrieved November 11, 2026. Public record (City of Portland). Figures only; the source file is linked, not hosted

   Reliability: Other. Consultant study paid for by the City of Portland. Seattle costs come from spring 2023 interviews with developers and contractors plus public and private data, for one typical building design.

License: FactHub's selection, cleaning and combined tables are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source data keeps the terms listed above (terms).

Limitations and reproducibility

Reproducible from public sources: Each planned building's cost per apartment is its 'Total Residential Development Cost' (2021-2023 lists) or 'Anticipated Total Residential Development Costs' (2024-2025 lists) divided by its total low-income units, as printed in Commerce's application list for that year. Finished buildings' cost per unit is printed in the cost data reports. County purchase costs are the per-unit acquisition and rehabilitation figures in Figure 20 of King County's 2024 Health Through Housing report, added together. build.py recomputes every table and median from these transcribed figures.

• Costs for planned buildings are the sponsors' estimates when they applied for state money. Final costs can differ; DESC Woodland's estimate rose 38% between its 2021 and 2023 applications.
• Only buildings that applied to the state Housing Trust Fund appear. Seattle supportive housing financed without an application to that fund is missed.
• Four Seattle buildings planned in 2023-2025 is a small sample, so one project can move the median.
• Cost per apartment does not adjust for size. Supportive housing apartments are mostly studios; the typical new apartment benchmark building averages about 700 square feet per unit including common space.
• Costs include land, construction, fees, financing and reserves for the residential part of each building, including shared service space; commercial space is excluded. They are nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
• King County's purchase costs are life-to-date through 2024. Several bought buildings were still being renovated or not yet open, so their final cost per unit will be higher. The report does not say whether it divides by the units at purchase or the units after conversion.
• Cost per apartment is a one-time building cost. It is not the cost per resident, and it leaves out yearly operating and service costs.