10.24.24

Cantwell Celebrates 67 New Affordable Homes At Airway Heights Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

In addition to 51 new rental units, Highland Village Phase II will include 16 for-sale affordable homes; A Cantwell-championed federal program covered $13.2 million, or 62% of total project cost

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Community Frameworks, Habitat for Humanity-Spokane, and other community leaders in celebrating the grand opening of Highland Village Phase II. The project will add 67 affordable homes to an affordable apartment complex in Airway Heights focused on providing a mixed-income community of multifamily rental and homeownership homes.

Highland Village Phase II was paid for in part by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), a federal housing program championed by Sen. Cantwell. LIHTC funds covered $13.198 million of the total project cost.

"It's all about just having a place to call home. We sometimes take that for granted, but then we meet individuals who don't have that opportunity, and you see how precious it really is -- it gives people a start. It gives people an opportunity to get back on their feet, to have the life that they want to have," Sen. Cantwell said. "I think most people in America get it: Build more supply, and you'll drive down price. But here we're building more in Highland Village, so that we can bring down the price and give people options.”

The Highland Village development is a multi-year effort. The second phase included a mix of 51 apartment homes completed by Community Frameworks and 16 single family homes for affordable homeownership completed by Habitat for Humanity. The rental homes will be available this fall, and the Habitat homes will be available by December of 2024, with the families moving in throughout the fall and winter. Additional phases of Highland Village will continue through 2026. 

Sen. Cantwell has been a longtime supporter of affordable housing and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and is currently the leading Senate proponent of a pending tax package that would significantly boost the LIHTC program. That legislation was approved by the House earlier this year on an overwhelming bipartisan vote and includes two provisions authored by Sen. Cantwell to enhance LIHTC, which together represent the most significant investment in affordable housing in the last 35 years.

Since its creation in 1986, LIHTC has helped pay for 90% of the federally-funded affordable housing construction across the country, and has financed over 3.8 million affordable homes, including more than 100,000 in Washington state. The economic activity that the credit generated has supported nearly 170,000 jobs and generated more than $19 billion in wages.

More information about Sen. Cantwell’s work to include an expansion to the LIHTC program in the bipartisan tax package is available HERE.

Photos of today’s grand opening are HERE; video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks are HERE; and a transcript is HERE