Housing project gets $2.6 million

A controversial South Seattle apartment building for mentally ill homeless people will receive $2.6 million in city funds, Mayor Greg Nickels announced Friday.

Some Rainier Valley residents and business leaders have opposed the proposed 60-apartment complex just south of Columbia City, but Nickels said such housing was needed to accomplish a Seattle-King County plan to end homelessness in 10 years.

Envisioned as 80 apartments, the project near Rainier Avenue South and 42nd Avenue South was scaled down in response to community concerns, said Bill Hobson, executive director of Downtown Emergency Service Center, which is developing the $15 million building.

City funding is crucial, Hobson said. "It gives the project a real boost and credibility."

Opponents also have said it would stunt economic development and perhaps cause public-safety problems. Proponents counter that all of Seattle, and particularly a diverse community like Rainier Valley, should welcome the homeless and mentally ill.

Four other projects received $6 million in city awards Friday:

• $1.6 million for 55 units for homeless men on First Hill.

• $1.4 million for 26 units for homeless Latino families in Delridge/Westwood.

• $1.7 million for 27 units for homeless women on Capitol Hill.

• $1.3 million for 18 units for people disabled by AIDS/HIV in Rainier Valley..

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com