SEQUIM — Work has begun on a 42-unit, $4.3 million affordable-apartment complex at McCurdy Road and South Fifth Avenue.
Sea Breeze Apartments, offering subsidized apartment and townhouse options for low-income residents, is scheduled to be finished in about 11 months, pending weather, said Mark Rozgay, president of Timber River Development Inc. of Bellevue.
Timber River is co-developer and loan guarantor for Sea Breeze Apartments project with Shelter Resources Inc.
The nonprofit Shelter America Group is general partner, according to Rozgay.
Dawson Construction of Bellingham is the project’s contractor.
“The way we are able to charge less rent, which really amounts to a market rate project, is a loan from [state] Department of Commerce, and low income housing credits, and a [U.S. Department of Agriculture] federal loan at 1 percent for 50 years,” Rozgay said.
The Department of Commerce loan is also locked in at 1 percent interest for 50 years, he said.
Permanent loan
The Washington Community Reinvestment Association gave the project a permanent loan at 6.5 percent interest rate, he said.
The developer has been involved in building apartments since the 1980s, including Suncrest I, Suncrest II and Suncrest Village complexes on East Prairie Street.
“We have to keep it affordable for 50 years,” Rozgay said.
The latest three-acre apartment development is zoned for the highest-density housing. It is south of a residential neighborhood, across McCurdy Road.
The developers paid a $413,914.95 building permit fee, said Joe Irvin, interim planning director.
“We heard some comments from some neighbors expressing concerns about traffic and parking on McCurdy,” said Irvin, adding that the property has long been zoned for multi-family development.
The city’s State Environmental Policy Act review concluded in September 2007 that there was no significant environmental impact stemming from the project adjacent to an existing assisted living center.
Mix of sizes
The complex will be a mix with eight one-bedroom apartments, 13 two-bedroom units, 18 three-bedroom units and two four-bedroom townhouses.
Four of the two-bedroom units are townhouses, as will be six of the three-bedroom units, he said.
All units include appliances.
The complex’s units are planned in seven buildings with a separate community center-office and storage building.
“We normally start marketing two to four months prior to completion,” he said, which would be next summer.
Persons interested in renting at Sea Breeze can call Legacy Management at 425-423-0304.
Site grading
It is estimated that 4,800 cubic yards of grading will be completed as part of site construction.
A portion of the Highland Irrigation ditch is on the site and will be rerouted around the perimeter of the project.
Street runoff, on-site and off-site, is designed to be collected into a series of underground infiltration systems associated with landscaped areas within the project.
The exterior of the buildings is planned to have fiber-cement siding, and the structure height will not exceed 28 feet, 7 inches, or two stories.
Security lighting
City documents show that nighttime security lighting will be minimized to the extent practical while maintaining adequate lighting levels for nighttime safety and security.
Low-level lighting associated with any interior pedestrian pathway shall be provided in locations to provide a safe environment for the user while not negatively impacting adjacent residences.
This project is required to provide a minimum 8,400 square feet of open space.
The project is proposing a toddler play lot and a sports court for a total area of about 11,597 square feet.
All pedestrian pathways shall be paved and meet federal disability requirements.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.