Sale of Burien apartment complex called off because of soil contamination

A year ago, the Port of Seattle's plan to tear down a Burien apartment complex drew the wrath of housing advocates.

Several sued to stop demolition, and Port officials, who had hoped to put a big-box store or a cargo warehouse there, were pressured into selling the apartments to the King County Housing Authority.

On Friday, the housing authority and the Port said the sale was off. Tests showed significant soil contamination, left over from the site's days as an auto-wrecking yard in the 1950s.

The 162 Lora Lake apartments, which had become a political poster child for a countywide effort to end homelessness, will come down.

"We're obviously very sad and disappointed," said Rhonda Rosenberg, spokeswoman for the King County Housing Authority.

She said the fight was still worth it.

"It helped focus regional attention on the unnecessary loss of rental housing."

Public Health — Seattle & King County will spend a month looking at whether previous residents could have been exposed to dangerous levels of dioxins, which could increase risk of cancer.

Charissa Fotinos, medical director with Public Health's clinical services, said it is difficult to assess anyone's risk at this point. "We're certainly concerned," she said.

The apartments have been empty since residents moved out last summer.

The private developer who built the apartments tested and cleaned the site in consultation with the state Department of Ecology in 1987, according to the housing authority.

The Port bought the land in 1998 because it was near a planned third runway for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Residents were relocated.

In 1999, the Port leased the apartments to the housing authority. Although the apartments rented at market rates, many tenants used federal low-income-housing vouchers.

The housing authority said it did not test the soil for chemical pollutants, which they do only when they are planning a purchase.

"Even if we had known it at the front end, we wouldn't have pursued testing based on the paper trail, because it had been mitigated and Department of Ecology had signed off on it," Rosenberg said.

When the housing authority's lease ended last year, the Port wanted to tear down the buildings.

But the housing authority protested, saying the Port should preserve the apartments, given the lack of affordable housing in the county. Several political leaders, including King County Executive Ron Sims, voiced support for the housing authority.

At one point, the Church Council of Greater Seattle held a service at the site to lament the impending destruction.

A King County Superior Court judge granted an injunction to stop the Port.

The Port discovered the contamination while planning for demolition.

To let people move back into the apartments, the housing authority would need to spend $8 million to clean up the site. Cleanup standards are more stringent than they were in 1987.

The housing authority called off the sale.

"We call this a happy ending," said Burien City Manager Mike Martin. He hopes the Port will go with an industrial building, stores or an auto mall.

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