Preserving affordable housing  

       "It will take a combination of a new government center and visitor oriented retail and entertainment to spark the town back to life. Put those things together, along with new housing, and you catalyze a vital town center. There's so much work to do here, but the potential is extraordinary."
-Peter Calthorpe, nationally known architect and urban planner  

"A realistic, doable strategy like this, the hard work and support we're seeing from business and community leaders, plus the support of government organizations, are the essential ingredients for a beautiful, economically vital Bremerton in which we can all take pride."
-Lynn Horton, Mayor, City of Bremerton  

Preservation efforts aren't just targeted at apartment complexes. Through KCCHA's Rehabilitation Program, seniors and people with disabilities get the help they need to make repairs so they can stay in their own homes.

"Our old leaky roof was so hard to live with," says Jeanette, a retired Kitsap County homeowner who now has a new roof and energy-efficient windows, thanks to KCCHA's Rehabilitation Program. "My stress level has gone way down - you can't feel the wind coming in with the new windows!"

"Affordable housing benefits everyone in the community. It allows a diversity of ages, ethnic backgrounds, and interests that make a neighborhood special," says KCCHA's Chase.

Many communities recognize the importance of neighborhood diversity, says Chase, and often it's neighbors who are the key to preserving affordable housing.

"The reason we found out about the Bainbridge Island apartment building was because the local paper wrote about it, and the community rallied in support of it. Islanders wanted to make sure their long-time neighbors had an affordable place to live."

An editorial in the Review adds this food for thought on affordable housing: "Ten-year salary for star baseball player: $252 million. Homes for 13 low-income Bainbridge families: $825,000. Given our choice of deals, we'll take the second one every time. Who needed that shortstop, anyway?"

Cedar Heights Apartments residents pause for a picture in their play area. It costs at least 70 percent more to replace affordable housing like this than to preserve it. That's why, when the owner decided to sell the complex, KCCHA Housing Preservation Director Don Chase worked with him to find a nonprofit organization to buy it. The Low Income Housing Institute now owns the apartments, keeping rents affordable for working parents and their children, people with disabilities, and seniors.