Seattle Housing Authority

About Seattle Housing Authority

SHA is an independent public corporation established in 1939. SHA operates over 6,000 units of Public Housing, administers the Housing Choice Voucher Program of over 10,500 vouchers, and operates a robust development program which has created over 2,500 units of affordable housing in the City of Seattle. These programs serve over 37,000 individuals and is made possible by robust partnerships with non-profit affordable housing providers, social service providers, municipal government and our Public School District among others.

In recent years, SHA redeveloped its three largest garden communities, converting them from older, deteriorating public housing-only sites to vibrant mixed-income communities, with new replacement housing for low-income families, thousands of additional affordable housing units, home ownership opportunities, new parks and community spaces, and other amenities. We are currently working on our fourth garden community, Yesler Terrace, located in the heart of Seattle near downtown. One of the first public housing properties in the region, it was also one of the first, if not the first integrated public housing property in the country. The redevelopment of Yesler Terrace, with a total investment estimated at up to $1.7 billion, is currently being transformed from a 561 public housing project into a modern, urban community with new homes for the low-income residents, the addition of more than 4,000 apartments for people at all income levels, a new central park and other green areas, and renovation of a historic steam plant into a center for early childhood education, employment assistance and community gathering.

The Seattle Housing Authority employs approximately 550 people. SHA is committed to a diverse workforce and actively recruits tenants receiving public housing assistance and others with low incomes for jobs within the agency. More than 40% of SHA staff began their employment as a member of one of these groups.