The following letter was provided to the Wedgwood Community Council on June 4, 2001.
Seattle Housing Authority
120 Sixth Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109-5003
Tel: (206) 615-3300
FAX: (206) 615-3539
TDD: (800) 545-1833 ext. 589
June 4, 2001
Dear Wedgwood Community Members:
I am writing to let you know that the Seattle Housing Authority will soon be the new owner of Wedgewood Estates. When we learned that this beautiful property was available, we immediately began negotiations to purchase it. The sale is scheduled for closing in mid-July.
The SHA Board of Commissioners and I want to assure you that you can anticipate a smooth transition with very little change in how Wedgewood Estates is operated. We intend to be both a responsible landlord to the residents living there and a good neighbor in Wedgwood for many years to come.
The Wedgewood Estates community is already made up of residents of various income levels, and we expect this to continue. No one will be asked to move out. As vacancies occur, we plan to maintain a mixed-income community very similar to the one that exists there now. We will also retain Pinnacle Realty Management Company as our property management company, along with the current staff. Current occupancy policies will remain in effect.
Perhaps you are wondering why the housing authority is interested in owning this property. Currently Wedgwood Estates is providing a substantial amount of affordable housing in an area of Seattle where real estate values are escalating rapidly. By purchasing this property, we hope to ensure that it will remain affordable into the future. We want to help maintain Seattle as a city accessible to people at all income levels, not just the very affluent and the very poor.
We do not plan to convert this property into low-income public housing. We will continue operating Wedgewood Estates as a mixed-income community that will remain outside the program of federally-subsidized public housing operated by the housing authority.
We will make some relatively minor repairs to some buildings on the property initially, but we are not planning any major renovations or redevelopment efforts. As the buildings age, this may become necessary, but major changes are not planned for the immediate future.
The Wedgewood Estates project will stand alone financially and operationally, and it will not divert other housing authority resources that are available for maintaining our traditional public housing. The project is being financed with tax-exempt bonds, which will be repaid from rental income.
Please let us know if we can answer any question you may have about our purchase of this development. We are committed to a seamless transition that will serve the community well.
Harry Thomas
Executive Director
See also June 20 letter.
I’m a concerned resident at Wedgewood Estates here in Seattle. Wondering if you are still the owner of Wedgewood Estates? Have several questions that I can’t seem to get answers to.
Hi! No, we are not. We do not own any properties. We are a nonprofit community organization. If you want to reach out to us personally at admin@wedgwoodcc.org and share your concern we can see if/how we can help.