High Point
West Seattle’s High Point neighborhood underwent a dramatic transformation, starting in 2004. The Seattle Housing Authority, with lead designer Mithun, redeveloped the 120 acre site incorporating New Urbanist community design and state of the art low impact development (LID) practices.
High Point was originally developed as temporary housing for defense workers during WWII. Although the development was intended to be temporary, it was transferred to the Seattle Housing Authority in 1952 and has been used as public housing, rented to low-income, mostly immigrant families, ever since.
High Point’s redevelopment has been substantial. The street network was redone to connect into the surrounding area’s grid. The original 716 low income units have been replaced with a mixed income neighborhood that, at completion, will include 1600 units including apartments, townhomes, condominiums, flats, carriage houses, single family homes and duplexes. The development includes 20 acres of green space, a new library and community center, a clinic and a planned commercial center.
More than 1000 of the planed unites had been constructed by April of 2009 including all of the Seattle Housing Authority’s rental units and a variety of high and middle income units. Due to the housing bust of 2008 some for profit lot development was delayed, but the neighborhood is largely intact and all of the infrastructure is completed.
High Point’s redevelopment includes both subsidized and market rate housing integrated side by side. "This is very much an income-integrated community," says Tom Phillips, leader of SHA’s High Point Development Team, "Part of the whole idea is we have people living in $600,000 houses living across the street from somebody paying $200 rent for their apartment or townhouse."1
All homes meet Built Green 3 Star standards and many have achieved energy star rating. All of Seattle Housing Authority’s new rental units are energy star certified making High Point the largest concentration of Energy Star Homes in the country.
High Point’s new streets are narrow, most only 25 feet wide, and planting buffers separate sidewalks from the road. Blocks are kept short to encourage walking and parking in many areas is clustered, forcing neighbors to park a short distance from their homes and walk past each other on a daily basis. Homes are set close to the sidewalk and public parts of homes face the street or pocket parks to encourage “eyes on the street” natural surveillance.
Green infrastructure is integrated into the neighborhood and streetscape designs. Swales and bio-retention basins slow, filter and infiltrate storm water, protecting the creek that runs through the neighborhood and salmon that spawn nearby. Landscaping throughout High Point uses drought tolerant native species and special maintenance provisions in HOA agreements are aimed at preserving the natural systems.
High Point’s combination of advanced green building, eco-friendly integrated site design and New Urban neighborhood structure has catapulted High Point in to the national an international spotlight. The development was one of 5 developments recognized by the Urban Land Institute’s Global Award for Excellence in 2007, one of only two in the US, and has received awards from the EPA, AIA, NAHB, HUD and the ASAL.
Mithun and the Seattle Housing Authority have also been recognized for the social sustainability of the project. The developer conducted extensive public involvement, including design charettes. One of the major contractors, Absher Construction, agreed to hire at least 50 low income residents for construction work and at least 15 percent of the union work on the site was reserved for apprentices.
The mixed income design, integrating people from different classes and backgrounds is the hallmark of Hope VI, the HUD program that provided about a quarter of the overall funding. The project recieved a $53 million grant from Hope VI, $56 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit investments and other public and private funds totaling over $550 million in local investment.
According to Tom Phillips “Our goal at High Point was to knit this former post-war housing project back into the fabric of West Seattle, creating a mixed income, mixed use, diverse neighborhood typical of Seattle’s thriving lifestyle. Special attention was paid to creating a walkable, front-porch experience that would foster a sense of community and neighborliness among the people who live here.”
Those high social goals have been met with some criticism from incoming residents as diverse backgrounds lead to culture clashes. A 2007 Seattle Times article points to conflict between old and new residents. One resident said, “It's like three worlds out here. You've got old working-class Seattle — guys like me with too much junk in their yards. You've got the subsidized renters. Then you've got the new people, the ones buying these luxury homes.”
One newcomer ignited controversy, on a since closed blog, blaming immigrants and renters for crime and loitering, another suggested that the new development needs a gate, with a guard, to ward off "unwanted guests.”2
Criticisms not withstanding, the redevelopment of High Point is has become an internationally recognized standard for quality design at every level. From the buildings to the lots, to the blocks and neighborhood as a whole High Point has stretched the boundaries of integrated design, taking the best of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Planning and Community Development, to create a neighborhood that has weathered the housing bust and come out booming. Phillips likes the neighborhood so much, he decided to move there!3
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