The Pacific Hotel: Low-Income Housing

The Pacific Hotel in Seattle, originally called the Leamington Hotel and Apartments, was built in 1916 and served throughout its history as a transient hotel and apartment complex. The building was a prime example of early 20th century architecture, complete with decorative balconies, terra-cotta quatrefoils, and an interior courtyard. However, despite renovations during the 1960s, the complex went out of business and the building was foreclosed on in the early 1980s. In 1993, at the urging of a homeless advocacy organization, a nonprofit housing developer called Plymouth Housing Group (PHG) purchased and rehabilitated the property for use as low-income housing. The unique design of the building allowed for both low-income rental units and single-room occupancy units for homeless individuals. Though at this time the building was not a certified historic property, the Pacific Hotel Limited Partnership (PHLP), formed by PHG, applied for and received certification of historical significance from the NPS. To help ensure that the plans would be certified by the NPS, PHLP worked closely with the Washington State Historic Preservation Officer during the preparation of the renovation plans. In late 1994, the NPS certified the renovation plans. Over this same period, PHLP applied for and received LIHTC from the state of Washington.

PHG works to eliminate homelessness and stabilize homeless and very low-income people in housing by preserving, developing and operating safe, decent, affordable housing, and by providing opportunities for homeless and very low-income people to improve their lives.

The project benefited from over $3.6 million raised through the syndication of the LIHTC and the HPTC. Total qualifying expenditures for the HPTC equaled $5.9 million, yielding a 20 percent credit of almost $1.2 million. These credits were sold for almost $950,000. The qualifying basis for the LIHTC was over $6.5 million (the building benefited from its location in a Qualified Census Tract, which increased the eligible costs from which the qualifying basis is computed), yielding 10 years of credits worth a total of $5.9 million. These credits were sold through syndicators for $2.7 million. In 1995, the newly renovated building, containing 112 single-resident occupancy units and multi-room apartments, was dedicated.