BRIDGE Housing breaks ground on Sound Transit-supported TOD project in city of Bellevue
In partnership with Sound Transit and the city of Bellevue, Wash. BRIDGE Housing began construction on its Spring District transit-oriented development (TOD) project. Sound Transit says this project will bring 234 affordable homes to the Bellevue community on land contributed by the city and the agency. Future residents of this community will be housed in two multi-story buildings, just steps from the Spring District Link light-rail station, which opened in April 2024.
Sound Transit conveyed two development lots appraised at $16.25 million near the OMF East facility to BRIDGE Housing in December 2024 at no cost to support affordable housing outcomes.
The Spring District project will include 355 bedrooms across studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes. The agency notes these units will be affordable to households earning 60 percent of the area median income and below. Forty units will be set aside for individuals with developmental disabilities, with supportive services provided by Open Doors for Multicultural Families.
Planned amenities include a community room with a kitchen, a fenced courtyard with a play structure, an elevated terrace, onsite property management and resident services offices, shared laundry rooms on each floor, a bicycle room and garage parking. Resident services will be provided by Wellspring Family Services.
Scheduled for completion in late 2026, this TOD project will help to create affordable housing that offers convenient access to employers like Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, as well as parks, recreation and schools in the Bellevue School District. Work is ongoing to realize a range of market-rate outcomes on the remaining TOD property at OMF East.
The project was awarded a predevelopment grant and low-cost financing from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund. Public funds were awarded by the city of Bellevue, ARCH, King County Department of Community and Human Services, WA Housing Trust Fund and CHIP, and a tax-exempt bond allocation through Sound Transit’s partnership with the WA State Housing Finance Commission.
“This site is a testament to creativity, flexibility and commitment to a vision,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Vice Chair Claudia Balducci. “Thanks to the commitment from all the partners, we were able to site a necessary piece of maintenance infrastructure while still following through on our vision of the Spring District as a vibrant transit-oriented neighborhood. I’m thrilled that this new affordable housing will bring people of all backgrounds and incomes together to enjoy both everything the Spring District has to offer and access to opportunity across our region through quick and convenient transit on light rail.”
