Creating Housing for a Growing City
Local capitalists organize to develop land and build affordable cottages to address Seattle's severe housing shortage.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Messrs. M. V. B. Stacy, John Leary, Dr. T. T. Minor, and other capitalists have organized a Building and Loan Association for the purpose of purchasing eligible city property and improving it. They have already purchased block 20 of Maynard’s Plat near the gas works and 175 lots on Jackson Street from the Terry estate for approximately $70,000. The association intends to build thirty cottages that can be rented at $12 to $15 per month. Heretofore, one of the greatest drawbacks to Seattle has been that there were no eligibly located houses for new arrivals to occupy, and many people who came here to locate were compelled to leave on that account. The association will also sell lots on the installment plan to encourage home ownership.
“Heretofore one of the greatest drawbacks to Seattle has been that there were no eligibly located houses for new immigrants to occupy.”
The urgent call for affordable housing and the struggle of new arrivals to find accommodation in a booming Seattle is a direct mirror of the city's current housing crisis and the ongoing debate over urban density and affordability.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.