Lora Lake Apartments saved again

The Lora Lake Apartments in Burien were going to be demolished, then saved, then demolished, then saved, then demolished. As of Friday, they have been saved again.

A day after the Port of Seattle commission voted to move forward with tearing down the Burien apartments, a King County Superior Court judge granted an injunction Friday that would temporarily keep the Port from razing the apartments for a cargo warehouse.

Housing advocates have been trying to save the 162 affordably priced apartments for months, calling them a final foothold that kept people from falling into homelessness.

"We're very happy that the clock has been stayed so we have an attempt to work out a reasonable compromise that will work out for everybody here," said Stephen Norman, executive director of the King County Housing Authority, which sued the Port. "The affordable-housing crisis in the region is truly reaching crisis proportions, and we can't let go of the possibility of saving housing."

Although the last tenants moved out in July, half of the tenants who lived there made less than the 50 percent of the area's median income; the 50 percent figure is $38,950 a year for a family of four.

"We haven't had a chance to evaluate" the ruling yet, said Terri-Ann Betancourt, a spokeswoman for the Port, which owns the property near the new third runway at Sea-Tac Airport.

The housing authority ran the apartments for seven years while runway construction was delayed. When it came time to demolish the building this year, the housing authority asked the Port to reconsider, and the Port declined, citing a promise to Burien to redevelop the area.

Many officials encouraged the Port and Burien to reconsider, including Gov. Christine Gregoire, state House Speaker Frank Chopp, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims. Sims made an $18 million offer on behalf of the county to buy the property.

Last month, the housing authority sued the Port, claiming the authority had the right to seize the property for public use. On Friday, Judge Deborah Fleck granted a preliminary injunction, restraining the Port from demolishing the 162 apartments until the trial, scheduled for March.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com