With Amazon support, plus Cliff Avril’s backing, Exxel Pacific to build affordable Capitol Hill units
The future apartments.
The 1960s-era Town House apartments, at 228 11th Ave. E. on Capitol Hill, are now fenced and vacant. Builder Exxel Pacific has hung its shingle outside, and demo will soon begin. B9 Architects and Atelier Drome Architects designed the seven-story replacement building. Cohen Properties acquired the old structure in 2021, after redevelopment plans had begun.
A lot has changed since then. The Amazon Housing Equity Fund recently announced that it’s backing the now 67-unit and entirely affordable housing project. It’s newly called the Pointe at Thomas (that street is one door north). And Cohen has partnered with former Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril in a new venture called C&A Development.
Avril said in the announcement, “We believe the people who power this city — teachers, health care workers and everyday professionals deserve the opportunity to live in the communities they help sustain.”
An NFL fixture from 2008-2017, Avril joined the Hawks in 2013, later earned Pro Bowl honors, and was a member of the famous 2014 Super Bowl-winning team. He’s since been involved in a variety of local causes — including pickleball!
The Seahawks star.
At the Pointe project, compact studios and SEDUs will be affordable to households earning between 40% and 80% of area median income. For single-person households, the fund says that means $46,040 to $92,080 per year.
The Amazon fund is contributing $6.7 million to the effort. Its Senthil Sankaran said, “When working families can afford to live near excellent transit, jobs, schools and community resources, it transforms their daily lives. We’re honored to support C&A Development’s vision.”
The fund’s involvement represents another significant market flip from what had been a mostly market-rate proposal — with a Mandatory Housing Affordability fee — to entirely affordable housing.
And the site last week.
That pivot also aided in the permit process: The construction permit came this month, the demo permit in May, but such purely affordable housing projects no longer require a MUP. And the old MHA payment, now moot, was to be just over $1.3 million.
Seattle Credit Union is providing an $11.4 million construction loan. And the Washington State Department of Commerce has also contributed to the endeavor.
The Pointe team also includes Root of Design, landscape architect; AJP Engineering, structural; Watkinson Engineering, civil; AAA Tree, arborist; and Emerald City Engineers, MEP.
New to the roster is the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic. Its employees, patients and patient family members will be granted first notice of unit availability at the Pointe. Avril has long been a supporter to the OBCC. His partnership with Cohen apparently began in 2020, and the Pointe seems to be their first new-construction effort.
Avril also runs his own CA Family Properties, which “acquires, owns, renovates, and operates affordable, workforce and value-oriented apartment communities across the U.S.”
There’s no parking in the relatively compact project, spanning about 39,000 square feet, to employ standard wood over concrete methods. Assuming a summer start, an 18-month build time could be possible. The project intends to achieve Built-Green 4-Star certification.
Amenities will include a 1,680-square-foot roof deck, and two bike rooms. Capitol Hill Station is about a four-minute walk away, along with all the shops on Broadway. C&A Development also intends to underwrite or seek aid for residents’ transit passes.
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