Published April 29 2026
Additional opportunity to apply for funds this summer
Two affordable housing developments will begin construction later this year after the City Council approved more than $37 million in funding allocations earlier this month to expand affordable housing opportunities in the city.
This investment is the largest single affordable housing funding round in the city’s history. The money will support four projects in Bellevue totaling 271 units of affordable housing and an additional 234 throughout the Eastside.
“These funds will create new affordable housing for families throughout Bellevue and across the Eastside, in primarily walkable neighborhoods,” said Bianca Siegl, director of the city’s Office of Housing. “This record funding award demonstrates Bellevue’s continued efforts to ensure Bellevue is a place everyone can afford to call home.”
The city’s Affordable Housing Strategy identifies a need to build or preserve 5,700 affordable units over the next 10 years; these most recent investments will accelerate progress toward that goal.
Developers applied for the funding after the city advertised funds being available from two sources last year – the annual Housing Stability Program, generated through a state-mandated sales tax, and a one-time, limited-source Affordable Housing Fund that is part of the city’s long-range planning reserves.
Up to $25.7 million from the Housing Stability Program and up to $11.3 million from the Affordable Housing Fund will support projects to create 271 new affordable housing units in Bellevue, including predevelopment funding that will lead to approximately 127 more units. The council also approved $1.3 million from A Regional Coalition for Housing’s (ARCH) Housing Trust Fund going toward these 271 new units in Bellevue, as well as an additional 234 units throughout the Eastside.
The awarded projects in Bellevue are:
- Imagine Housing - Forest Edge. 100 apartments on faith-owned land; studios to 3-bedroom units affordable at 60% of area median income.
- SRM and Hopelink - Altaire at East Main. 145 affordable apartments near light rail, 1- to 3-bedrooms affordable to households earning between 30%-60% AMI, including 37 units for families exiting homelessness. On-site services provided by Hopelink.
- Habitat for Humanity - Orchard Gardens. 25 new permanently affordable 3-bedroom ownership homes for households earning up to 80% AMI.
- Bellwether Housing – Bellevue TOD. Predevelopment funding for 127 affordable apartments on city-owned land near light rail, for families earning between 30 and 60% AMI.
Two projects are set to begin construction later this year.
The city will release a 2026 Housing Stability Program request for proposals in early summer to award additional funds through that source.
For more information on Bellevue’s Housing Stability Program and Affordable Housing Fund, visit Housing Affordability. To learn more about the ARCH Housing Trust Fund, visit ARCHhousing.org/housing-trust-fund.