Building Belonging.
Providing homes for the people who power our economy
Seattle Social Housing Developer aims to provide housing to low and middle income households who are rent-burdened, can’t afford market-rate housing, but earn too much to qualify for affordable housing.
These are the people who power our economy: teachers, firefighters, service workers, and many others who are rent-burdened and increasingly displaced from Seattle.
Permanently Affordable
Cross-Class Communities
Climate Forward
Publicly Owned
Working together toward a more affordable city
Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) is a new, innovative public development authority created through the passage of I-135 in 2023.
Our mission is to develop, own, lease, and maintain mixed-income housing that is permanently affordable, owned as a public asset forever, and designed for people priced out of market-rate housing.
What is Social Housing?
Social housing exists in various forms throughout the world to provide secure and affordable housing for people who can’t afford market-rate rents. In our Seattle model, housing will be publicly owned in perpetuity and offer the long-term affordability that creates stable living environments, promotes social equity, and prevents displacement.
News & Updates from SSHD
SSHD announces Seattle’s first ever social housing construction project
The Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) announced its first construction project ever on Friday, marking a milestone for the new public agency.
On Thursday night, SSHD’s Board unanimously approved the new construction project in the Central District, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
The construction site is home to two cabin like structures, which former speaker of the Washington State House of Representatives Frank Chopp built as a young man with his father. Chopp named one of the buildings “the Bird” because he thought it looked exactly like a bird taking off. This larger building has since been a home to Chopp’s daughter, family friends, and various tenants.
Chopp and his wife, Nancy, initially planned to build a small apartment complex on the site and live there themselves. Nancy said she decided to sell the land to SSHD after Chopp’s passing in 2025 because she knew her husband believed social housing was one way to address the affordability crisis in Seattle.
Seattle Social Housing Developer Announces First Construction Project
At a chilly morning press conference today, Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) Interim CEO Tiffani McCoy announced plans for the agency’s first original construction project, a five-story apartment building in the Central District on the lot that used to belong to the late housing advocate Rep. Frank Chopp. Scheduled to open in 2028, the development will provide 20 units of housing, leased at a mix of affordable and market rate rents.
The Central District site is SSHD’s second official housing project, following the May acquisition of the 150-unit Elara at the Market in Belltown. The two are part of a rapidly expanding housing portfolio—the agency hopes to reach 1,000 units owned or in the pipeline by the end of 2027. McCoy says the SSHD has a third yet-to-be-announced acquisition that will bring the total to 300 units by the end of this year.