Plan Elements

Federal guidelines outline priorities that must be balanced at the sites of military installations closed under the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) process. For Fort Lawton, this means including open space, wildlife habitat, market-rate homes and housing for formerly homeless individuals and families.

The ultimate vision for the future of the Fort Lawton site is to create a livable and diverse mixed-income community that fits into the surrounding neighborhood.

Open space
Open space is essential to the vitality of any neighborhood. Open space, whether that means retaining current open space or creating new open space, will be part of the Fort Lawton reuse plan.

Wildlife habitat
One of the priorities in the redevelopment of Fort Lawton is preserving and protecting wildlife habitat, particularly for the great blue heron. These birds are listed as a priority species by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and are particularly vulnerable to disturbance because of their tendency to aggregate during the breeding season, as well as the limited availability of suitable nesting areas remaining within Seattle. The City and its partners, including the Cascade Land Conservancy, will be taking great care to ensure habitat for this priority species is balanced with other needs at Fort Lawton.

Market-rate housing
Along the lines of creating a mixed-income neighborhood, a portion of the housing that will be included in the redevelopment plan will consist of market-rate housing.

Homeless housing
When federal property is surplused, federal law requires homeless housing be a part of the reuse plan. The City has chosen Archdiocesan Housing Authority and the YWCA as our partners in developing housing for formerly homeless individuals and families at Fort Lawton. United Indians for All Tribes will also be involved in providing culturally sensitive services to this population.

Other resources for information about homeless housing:

• Committee to End Homelessness in King County
• National Alliance to End Homelessness
• Corporation for Supportive Housing
• City of Seattle Office of Housing
• City of Seattle Human Services Department
  

Self-help housing (Habitat for Humanity)
Habitat of Seattle/South King County is committed to building decent, affordable homes for families in need.  Habitat is not a giveaway program.  Homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor - sweat equity - into building their Habitat house and they pay a no-profit, no-interest mortgage.

page last updated: April 25, 2008