Housing authority could buy Lock Vista

The Seattle Housing Authority has agreed to consider purchasing the Lock Vista Apartment building to preserve the moderate rentals.

"We're sure willing to take a look at what we can do," said Virginia Felton, spokesperson for the Seattle Housing Authority. "It's a big building and it's pretty expensive."

The housing authority has acquired buildings in the past to save units with "reasonable rents," such as the Wedgewood Estates. But the Lock Vista is much larger and pricier than buildings it typically purchases, said Felton.

There's no clear assessed value of the complex, but it's estimated to be around $20 to $30 million.

"Whether or not we can step up to this on this short of notice, we just don't know yet," Felton said.

Since learning the building would be sold to The Northlake Group, a development company that has already converted more than 100 Ballard apartments to condominiums, tenants have organized to stop it. They formed a new group, Save the Lock Vista Organization, and have met with city officials and the housing authority.

The sale with Northlake is expected to close sometime this month. But the housing authority could still purchase the apartments using its power of eminent domain, Felton said, which forces the owner to sell to them as long as it serves the public good.

The group is advocating for an immediate moratorium on condo conversions until the state legislature, which governs conversion laws, votes to allow cities more control, such as providing the displaced adequate time and compensation to move.

As it is now, tenants are allowed 90 days to relocate and receive only $500 as a moving allowance, which is "grossly inadequate," said Lock Vista tenant Nancy Reithaar.

Save the Lock Vista demands that if the building cannot be saved, residents are guaranteed adequate relocation assistance, at least $2,000 per household. They also say that any construction while tenants are still living there will be strongly objected.

"It seems to me that with the current rate of condo conversions, we are all in danger of being forced out of our Ballard community soon," said Reithaar. "Why are condo-converting developers not held to a standard of humane behavior toward the renters that are being displaced?"

Local elected officials and city council members have vowed to push for stronger protection laws this next legislative session. But John Fox, director of the Seattle Displacement Coalition, said displaced renters need immediate help.

Fox said the city should approve an ordinance his group proposed, which would require owners to give tenant groups and nonprofits notice of a pending sale and 120 days to make an offer on the building before it can be sold to converters.

City leaders, realtors and developers agree that condo conversions are a large contributor to the city's loss of affordable housing.

Ballard has experienced at least 242 conversions in the past two years. Citywide, there's been a net loss of more than 3,200 rental units since 2005 due to demolition and conversion, according Fox's group.

There are 191 units at the Lock Vista, which would make it one of the largest conversions in the city.

"No wonder there is a housing crisis," said Fox.

Seattle City Council member Tom Rasmussen was led on a tour of the Lock Vista last week where he met tenants, many of them elderly. All said it would be difficult to find affordable housing in Ballard if forced to move. Many said they couldn't afford to buy homes here, even with well paying jobs.

Helen Marnane moved into the Lock Vista a year ago from Spokane. Her quaint, affordable one-bedroom apartment near the water "answered her dream," she said.

"What this is doing is taking away a decent nice place to live that's safe and comfortable," Marnane told Rasmussen. "They're not taking into consideration people with my income. I think I am losing part of my life and part of my dream."

The Lock Vista group said Seattle should enact laws similar to those in other major West Coast cities. In San Francisco, developers can only convert 200 apartment buildings to condos annually.

Rasmussen, chair of the council's housing committee, said he supports allowing cities the option to limit condo conversions and even establish a moratorium if there is a housing crisis. He said Seattle, with a less than 3 percent vacancy rate, is in trouble.

"The number of condo conversions has increased wildly over the last four years," Rasmussen told the tenants. "I'll do all I can to make sure everyone who lives here has an affordable place to live."

Thadeus Van Petten, another Lock Vista tenant, said he's one of the lucky ones. He has a savings account and a backup plan. But he's worried about the elderly and physically disabled who live in his building.

"I can't imagine what it's like for some of the other people," said Van Petten. "Finding a rental in Ballard, your options are going to be severely limited... Sure there are economic realities, but there are human realities, too."

For at least one elderly man, it would be the second time he's been displaced by The Northlake Group, said Reithaar.

"I don't dispute that land owners and real estate developers are entitled (to) their rights and entitled to make a profit, but what happened to social responsibility and respect for existing community?" she asked. "I want our city to flourish, but where is the balance?"

Visit http://www.savelockvista.org/ for more information.