November 2009 | Download & Print PDF | Current Issue | Archive
My View KIM HERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A unique, "inside" perspective on housing and
community development
from
the executive director of the Washington State Housing Finance
Commission
Award-Winning Affordable Housing in Washington State
-
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE - Avondale site, Redmond
- Broadway Crossing, Seattle
- Artspace Hiawatha Lofts, Seattle
- Riverwalk Point I & II, Spokane
- Tepeyac Haven, Pasco
- The Wilson Hotel, Anacortes
- More Award-Winning Properties
Riverwalk Point I & II, Spokane
This 100-home site offers a supportive community to low-income families—while forging a model for sustainable multi-family housing development
AWARDS
Riverwalk Point I:
Rebuild America Energy Champion for Public and Affordable Housing, U.S.
Department of Energy, 2003
Riverwalk Point II:
Energy Star Multi-Family Certification; Green Communities Certification,
Enterprise Community Partners, 2009
PROPERTY DEVELOPER
Riverwalk Point I:
Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners (SNAP), and the Sustainable Housing
Innovation Partnership (SHIP), an informal coalition of 70 community members and
groups
Riverwalk Point II:
SNAP, with Beacon Development Group as development consultant
FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL FUNDING
Spokane County; Washington State Housing Trust Fund; Low Income Housing Tax Credits
OTHER FUNDING SOURCES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, INCLUDE
Riverwalk Point I and II:
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Avista Foundation, Impact Capital, Inland
Northwest Community Foundation, National Equity Fund, U.S. Bank, Washington
Mutual
Riverwalk Point II (only):
Avista Utilities’ Incentive and Rebate Programs, Bank of America, Enterprise
Community Partners, I.S. Emily Fetterman Foundation, Fred Meyer, Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Moloney & O’Neill (Safeco), Red Lion, Rotary
Spokane, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Sisters of Providence—Emilie Gamelin
Mission Foundation, SNAP Board of Directors, SNAP Weatherization, Sterling
Savings, Washington State Department of Commerce – Building Communities Fund,
Washington Trust Bank.
Riverwalk Point I and II are a testament to thinking big and collaborating effectively in creating a large-scale affordable housing community. There are two overarching components to the ambitions that SNAP (Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners formerly Programs)—alongside the many people and organizations who contributed their ideas and expertise—has for this development. From the very first brainstorming meetings back in 2000, SNAP’s vision was for Riverwalk Point to be successful as affordable housing to families in critical need, while serving as a demonstration project for successful sustainable building practices as applied to multi-family housing.
Larry Stuckart, SNAP Executive Director, and Chris McCabe, SNAP Board member and Secretary/ Treasurer. Chris works at Avista Utilities, which was a strong private partner in the Riverwalk Point collaboration. At center, a reveal in the Riverwalk Community Center wall shows its straw bale underpinnings. About two-thirds of Riverwalk Point’s nearly 300 residents are children.
The two integrated housing developments, I and II, sit on nine acres on the eastern edge of Spokane. Across the street flows the Spokane River, and within close reach are dramatic bluffs and gulches characteristic of this part of eastern Washington.
With the completion of Riverwalk Point II earlier this year, a total of 100, energy-conserving, sustainable homes now make up a community of about 300 low-income residents. The project offers a healthy living environment, protected open spaces, play spaces—even a corridor for local deer to pass through safely on their way to the river. All apartments are dedicated to families at 50% of AMI or less. The centrally sited Community Building is home to classes, supportive services, and computer access, and provides ample room for celebrations and community activities.
You might say Riverwalk Point had its genesis about a dozen years ago with straw bales—enough to build an entire single-family house, the first permitted straw bale home within the City of Spokane. SNAP sponsored that affordable rental home in 1997 as a demonstration project in sustainable building practices. It was clear, describes SNAP consultant Margy Hall, that straw bale-building required too complex a process to fully incorporate in a multi-family housing development. But what was essential to a sustainable project of this scale? Back in the late 1990s, there weren’t as many models to draw from as there are today.
Margy Hall worked as a consultant on both Riverwalk Point I and II.
SNAP spearheaded the next step, which was to convene people and organizations that were interested in creating answers. This process drew on the expertise and creative thinking of 20 to 30 people at the beginning of the process; that number grew as Riverwalk Point I approached groundbreaking. The Sustainable Housing Innovation Partnership (SHIP) was formed as an informal collaborative partnership between SNAP and other engaged parties in 2000. “It ended up as the umbrella group that started looking at what the community and project should look like,” Margy explains.
The idea was to bring together organizations in the region that have a stake in building homes that are both sustainable and affordable. SHIP members included Julie Honekamp, SNAP Housing Services Coordinator, Holly Martin, SNAP’s construction manager, Mike Litrell of Avista Utilities, Jim Wavada of the Department of Ecology, David Hales with WSU’s Extension Energy Program, Jim Haynes with Spokane Regional Solid Waste, community lenders, HUD, VISTA volunteers—and many more.
From a design and development perspective, one of the most compelling aspects of this project was the innovation it inspired. “We looked at the different rating systems available then, the LEED rating system, Seattle’s SeaGreen standards and Issaquah’s Evergreen Builder’s Guide,” Margy says. “At that time, most were either single-family or commercial standards. We took what we could, incorporated that information, and created our own green building standards for multi-family.” In fact, Margy points out, when the State of Washington later developed the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard, the Department of Commerce was able to draw from the knowledge of SNAP Riverwalk Point team members Holly Martin and Rod Butler, who contributed their expertise to the development of Riverwalk Point.
When Riverwalk Point I was completed in 2003, SNAP was able to apply what it had learned. For Riverwalk Point II, the core group of community contributors was smaller than on Riverwalk Point I, “because we had developed the tools we could fall back on,” Margy says. The Community Center was a part of the second phase, and that’s when “straw bale building looped back into the process. We incorporated that into part of the first floor.” The total development costs for the projects were $6.14 million for the first phase, and $8.9 million for the second.
Riverwalk Point continues to evolve. For one thing, there’s room for more housing—a piece of land set aside on the site with the potential for 10 more units. And the community continues to serve as an ongoing “laboratory” for assessing the efficacy of diverse energy-saving technologies: Some of Riverwalk Point I’s buildings were deliberately constructed with alternative technologies to enable researchers to compare benefits.
This fall, Enterprise Community Partners approved the purchase of carbon offsets from the Riverwalk Point II property over a 10-year period. SNAP has also received a grant from Enterprise to develop sustainability training for both staff and residents, and to “green” the operating and maintenance manual for Riverwalk Point. “You can do great on a project’s design and construction, but sustainability still needs to be implemented in an ongoing way,” says Margy. Riverwalk Point is proof that to create a thriving, sustainable community—it takes a village.