A tenants group says it has settled a lawsuit against the developer of a high-profile property in downtown Seattle, across the street from City Hall. The agreement, which would pour millions into affordable housing, follows a public incident of political pressure involving a city council candidate.
The Civic Square Project, a proposed mixed-use high-rise with offices and residences, has languished since 2007. It remains a hole in the ground on a prominent downtown block.
Triad Development renewed its permits with the city in late 2014. The group Displaced Tenants for Accountability and Transparency, with support of the Tenants Union of Washington State, sued Triad Development over what they say was the improper renewal of those permits.
Now the sides say they have an agreement; Triad will pay out $700,000, of which, $500,000 will go toward affordable housing projects. If the development actually gets built, Triad will pay another $5 million toward affordable housing.
"Whatever happens on that project there will be a benefit for affordable housing in the city,” attorney Knoll Lowney said at a City Hall press conference. “This is a tremendous victory for a very scrappy group of tenants who decided to fight back.”
The money for housing would essentially be controlled by the tenants who sued — with, they say, oversight of an experienced fund manager. The details of the settlement remain private.
Allegations Of Political Pressure
The lawsuit made headlines earlier this month when Jon Grant, a city council candidate and former head of the tenants union, revealed a Triad executive had leaned on him to help settle the suit. The executive suggested he would make an anti-Grant political group go away if Grant intervened to resolve the suit.
Grant says he did not intervene, but that his decision to go public likely had something to do with getting the agreement.
"We have been pushing the city to demand more affordable housing from private developers and the city has been unwilling to take the lead on that. Now this group of tenants through this lawsuit were able to actually get $5 million for affordable housing. So that's a huge win for everyone," said Grant, who is running to unseat Council President Tim Burgess in the citywide Position 8.
Triad president Fred Grimm said in a statement the settlement is good news for the company and for the city.
“We can now move forward to re-activate an important piece of downtown Seattle and bring to fruition incredible public amenities and benefits including almost $15 million for affordable housing in Seattle - that's two to three times the amount being provided by other new developments downtown," said Grimm.
But the project's future remains murky. Following the revelations about the back-and-forth with Grant, Mayor Ed Murray denounced Triad and said the city would not continue working with the company.
"My administration inherited a contractual relationship with Triad, and eight years later there has been no visible progress on the project," Murray said in a statement. "In spite of today’s announcement, significant hurdles remain for Triad to meet their obligations under that contract. When this contract expires on Dec. 31, I still have no intention of seeking an extension.”
