Community Roots Housing

Opening in 2027 — High-quality child care, affordable housing, and transit will come together in one community for Northgate families.

Community Roots Housing and Kids Co. have started construction on a new early learning center at Copperleaf Northgate. The 7,761-square-foot center and outdoor play area will transform the ground-floor into an early learning environment. This is Kids Co.’s first standalone location designed specifically for young children outside a Seattle Public Schools building!

This family resource wouldn’t haven’t possible without the funding and support from Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Seattle Human Services, Washington State Department of Commerce, and Washington Community Reinvestment Association.

Community Roots Housing, Kids Co. Launch Buildout of Learning Center at Seattle Housing Development - Connect CRE Community Roots Housing and Kids Co. have begun construction on a new early learning center at CopperLeaf Northgate, one of Seattle’s newest affordable housing communities. The new 7,761-square-foot center and outdoor play area will transform the ground-floor space at CopperLeaf into a purpose-bui...

Did you know? 12th Avenue Arts was built on a police parking lot and transformed into permanent affordable housing and theater spaces. 🎨🏘️

For 50 years, Community Roots has responded to the challenges facing Seattle’s low-income residents. Few projects reflect that legacy more clearly than 12th Avenue Arts. The development began with a question from artists, residents, and community leaders: How do you protect a gentrifying neighborhood?

Learn how this project came to be in our 50 year anniversary series.

From the roots up: Producing 12th Avenue Arts - Community Roots Housing 12th Avenue Arts helped artists resist gentrification by combining affordable housing, cultural space, and community-led development on Capitol Hill.

Let’s take a trip back to 1991!

That year, we completed the rehabilitation of the Larned Apartments, which were originally built in 1909. Did you know the Larned was our first project supported by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program?

Follow us for more historic throwbacks as we celebrate our 50 year anniversary!

Over 100 people joined us for our 50th Anniversary Resident Picnic! 🥳🧺🛝 We were blown away by the excitement and support for our summer resource fair and community picnic.

Residents enjoyed free and fun activities that built connections between neighbors. There were lawn games, free swag, face painting and balloon animals by Hoopla Face Painting & Balloon Twisting, and a $1 raffle with a chance to win Alaska Airlines tickets, tickets to Black Nativity at Intiman Theatre, and a Nintendo Switch Lite.

What a wonderful sunny day to celebrate and give back to our residents, after all we couldn’t have made it to 50 years without the people who call Community Roots "home"!

Thank you to everyone who made this picnic incredible! 👏👏👏
Tacos el Alebrije
Spooky Dogs
Ma and Pops
Seattle City Light
Seattle Public Utilities
WorkSource Seattle-King County
Byrd Barr Place
Seattle Fresh Bucks
YouthCare
Denise Louie Education Center
King County Civil Rights Program
Community Roots Housing: Resident Services
Seattle Fire Department

And of course, all of this wouldn't have been possible without the hardworking teams at Community Roots Housing!

Apartment hunting is stressful. That’s why we’re bringing them directly to you! Swipe through some of our Capitol Hill units ➡️

🌱 Centennial
The Centennial is blocks from coffee shops, grocery stores, Seattle Central College, Aveda Arts & Sciences Institutes, and the light rail. Residents enjoy gardening in the brand-new p-patch. One-bedrooms starting at $1,394/mo. https://ow.ly/iVZf50ZC6jI

🏡 Seneca
Apply now and get 4+ weeks free rent! The Seneca is located on a charming residential street near First Hill’s hospitals, markets, and public transportation. Studios starting at $1,295/mo. https://ow.ly/nlyc50ZC6jH

🏳️‍🌈 Pride Place
This open & affirming space for LGBTQIA+ residents and allies is next to a community center run by GenPride. Pride Place households must have at least one member aged +55. Studios starting at $1,299/mo. https://ow.ly/wKzA50ZC6jL

Community Roots staff and residents grabbed some gloves and shovels and built a future p-patch at Centennial Apartments. The small garden is expanding, and an old pool was repurposed for more planting. They also refreshed the front entrance with new bark chips.

Thank you to all who worked hard in the heat to make this possible! We can't wait to see what residents grow.

Our largest affordable housing investment to date is officially 100% LEASED!

If you've ever ridden the Sound Transit light rail to Northgate, you've seen our big yellow six-story building — it's hard to miss.

Jointly owned and developed by BRIDGE Housing, Copperleaf Northgate's 232 brand new affordable apartments are now home to over 540 individuals and families. These homes serve everyday people earning 30% to 60% AMI (a couple making $78,960 a year qualifies for 60% AMI).

During a time when the cost of living is rapidly rising, these homes were built to help low-income residents access opportunities across the region through public transit.

Black Box Operations in our 12th Avenue Arts building has sparked a movement in the art community. The theater was built to keep community-driven art accessible in Capitol Hill.

The theater is home to productions and workshops led by Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Washington Ensemble Theatre, and Velocity Dance Center. This space has proved that grassroots theater is possible, even as commercial rents have risen around the city.

This has inspired others to follow this format — and the new ExoArts black-box theater is one of them. Their goal is to follow a similar model to Black Box Operations on 12th ave. ExoArts will offer six six-week blocks a year at subsidized sliding-scale rates that can be rented by outside theater companies to perform full-scale productions. Read more about how investing in local artists helps create a more affordable Seattle here:

A new theater is coming to Seattle. Its owner has big plans A local scenic and sound designer has plans to open a black-box theater space that can seat between 100-150 near the Fremont-Wallingford border.

We know apartment hunting is hard, so we're bringing them to you! Swipe through our open apartments.

🧱 Villa Apartments
At the gateway to Capitol Hill and Pike-Pine neighborhoods, this beautiful brick building has cityscape facing windows, on-site laundry, and some paid parking. It's near a dog park, restaurants like Bar Tango, and coffee spots like Victrola Coffee Roasters. Studios starting at $1,150/mo.

️🌇 Liberty Bank Building
Apply now and get up to 4+ weeks of free rent! Next to all that the Central District offers. Residents share a rooftop deck, courtyard, BBQ area, on-site laundry, lounge, and workshop space. One bedrooms start at $1,356/mo.

🏙️ John Carney
Centrally located on First Avenue in Belltown. Residents have access to a large, quiet courtyard while living in downtown Seattle, just two blocks from the Sculpture Park. Studios starting at $1,311/mo.

We're celebrating 50 years of renovating existing affordable homes for those who need them most!

In 1986, the introduction of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) shifted how affordable housing is financed nationally. For Community Roots, this changed how we were able to transform a boarded up property and vacant lot, like the Larned and Bryon Wetmore, into community assets.

🔁 The Larned: An abandoned 1909 residential hotel was transformed into 33 deeply affordable homes. The very first low-income residents to move in, like Betrina, immediately saw relief and went from paying $400/mo. in her previous rental to $175/mo. (roughly $1,285 down to $562 in today’s dollars).

🔁Bryon Wetmore: Created 12 family-sized homes at a time when much of the housing preserved downtown consisted of studios and one-bedrooms.

Read more in our blog about how Community Roots created housing that the market was not providing. https://ow.ly/fQ5i50ZuuZI