Lake Park Townhomes

Location

Issaquah , WA
United States
47° 31' 48.3636" N, 122° 1' 57.4284" W
Washington US

Completed in 1987, this was the first master plan development undertaken by King County that incorporated on-site housing for families with low to moderate incomes. Community input and a density bonus agreement with the master developer led to the county awarding Community Development Block Grant funds to the non-profit organization, Environmental Works (EW), to purchase a parcel within the Klahanie new town master plan. EW's community design center designed the 14 duplex buildings with the scale of the nearby, more expensive houses in mind. The 1,450-square-foot, attached townhouses connected to garages are sited around a cul-de-sac entrance street, which is a safe place for children to play. Gabled roofs, horizontal siding, and front porch entries give the homes a comfortable traditional feel. At 3,000 units the larger development is generally more upscale; it has such amenities as 300 acres of open space with a lake, several parks, tennis and other sports courts, a swimming pool, and fishing pier available to all residents. The county helped to make the homes affordable by assuming a "silent second" mortgage. Vince Tom, project manager for the county noted two important lessons from the development process, "It is important to structure the mortgage so that any appreciation is shared with the county. In developments with a narrow qualifying limits, you may have to educate potential buyers to help market the homes."

Dwelling Type: 
Duplex
Number of Units: 
28
State: 
WASHINGTON