Construction Underway at Elwood Affordable Housing Community Project in Vancouver, WA
March, 2020
The City of Vancouver’s first affordable housing development to utilize recent changes in city zoning standards has broken ground following the approval of funding and construction permits in February. Situated along 4th Plain Blvd, the Elwood Affordable Housing Community Project is in a commercially zoned transit corridor that under previous city code would not have been permissible. The new zoning updates and the Affordable Housing Fund are part of several measures the city of Vancouver has been taking to provide more affordable housing in the community.
The Elwood Affordable Housing Community, owned by the Housing Initiative (www.housinginitiative.net), will encompass four 3-story buildings and a total of 46 garden-style apartments, of which 50 percent will be designated for homeless people with complex physical and behavioral health needs. Auxiliary services will include central laundry, a community room, as well as open green space and a community garden.
The project will also meet the minimum requirements of the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standards (ESDS) which includes requirements for low-VOCs, water conservation, air sealing, and reduced thermal bridging. The project architect is Access Architecture (Brendan Sanchez, AIA).
Otak’s Vancouver team, under the leadership of Tim Leavitt, P.E., has been working in collaboration with the Owner, Architect, and city of Vancouver to navigate the complexities of this project and guiding the decision-making process. Otak was retained to complete the site surveys and civil engineering design, and obtain land-use and site engineering approvals/permits from the City.
Through a long history of community involvement – 20+ years in Vancouver – Leavitt and his team have gained an in-depth understanding of the city’s design and permitting requirements, especially in the area of multi-family housing and affordable housing. The Otak Vancouver team has established a strong niche in affordable housing design and permitting services in SW Washington.
For further information about Otak’s expertise in affordable housing architecture, planning, and design, please contact Tim Leavitt at 360.737.9613 or tim.leavitt@otak.com.