If all goes as Chuck Treatch plans, tenants at Marine Plaza in Port Townsend will see major renovations of their apartments starting in August, and the 40-unit, seniors-only complex will remain affordable for another 30 years.

“Our mission is to preserve Section 8 affordable housing in Washington, purchase, renovate them, and bring the quality of life up and reposition them to remain affordable,” said Treatch, a development partner of Preservation Partners Development of California, which has purchased Marine Plaza at 619 Clay St. in Port Townsend under the name Marion Court Preservation Limited Partnership. The company also is purchasing Marine Court, a 35-unit complex in Bremerton, and The Olympian in Olympia, which has 50 units. All are part of a proposed $16 million tax-exempt note request through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC).

The project in Port Townsend is estimated to cost $5.5 million of that $16 million.

The finance commission has scheduled a public hearing for 1 p.m., Thursday, June 25 in Seattle to consider the request, which would help finance the purchase of the properties and renovations, and allow the properties to be eligible for subsidies that will keep them affordable for seniors for the next 30 years, according to Dan Schilling, senior development analyst with the WSHFC. (See sidebar and legal notice in the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader in the June 10 edition.)

“We will record a regulatory agreement that runs with the land that would restrict that property, as affordable, for a minimum of 30 years, even if the property is sold,” Schilling wrote in an email to the Leader on June 16.

All of the current tenants have what are called Section 8 vouchers, which limit the rent to 30 percent of their income, with the government paying the difference in what the landlord could charge.

“After 20 years, since the project will still be restricted as affordable, it is likely that the owners will apply for another extension of the Section 8 contract,” Schilling wrote.

PROPERTY UPGRADES

Assuming the proposal is approved – Gov. Jay Inslee has to sign off on it – the goal is to start work on Marine Plaza improvements in late August and renovate from six to 10 units at a time, Treatch said.

Tenants would be asked to move out on a Sunday to allow workers to redo their apartments. The tenants would then return to their refurbished units the following Saturday, Treatch said. He estimated it would take through the year's end to complete the project.

Tenants would be given a stipend that they could use to move into a local hotel temporarily or they could stay with a friend for the week and pocket the stipend, he said. Treatch said the stipend amount varies and would be based on the typical cost of a hotel room. He didn't know how much that might be in Port Townsend.

“We try to make it very convenient. We've done 38 properties this way in Illinois, California and Washington,” Treatch said.

He said tenants were informed last Wednesday, June 10, about the project and given a likely timeline.

“Reaction was positive,” Treatch said regarding the response he received from managers.

Each unit is to get new kitchen cabinets, countertops, all new appliances, flooring, new low-flow toilets and low-flow faucets, and either LED or florescent lighting throughout.

The apartment complex gets a fresh coat of paint both outside and inside, Treatch said.

Treatch's company, Marion Court Preservation Limited Partnership, purchased the property on Dec. 15, 2014 for $2,650,000, according to records with the Jefferson County Assessor's Office.

He said the properties being reviewed by the state for tax-exempt funding to allow for renovation were all purchased at different times.

MORE PROJECTS

The goal of the project in Port Townsend is to allow those currently living in the apartments to stay there for another 20 years or longer, Treatch said.

He said there is no intention of developing the apartments into a complex that would attract higher-paying tenants.

“We are buying them to preserve them,” he said, adding that he understood there is a practice of buying properties to convert them to market-rate units, which are not necessarily affordable and typically unaffordable for those on fixed incomes.

People who make 60 percent of the median income in the area could qualify to live in the complex, but would need to be at least 62, he said.

Currently, the median income in Jefferson County is $65,200. So, 60 percent of that for one person is $27,420. Anyone making that amount or less would qualify to live in Marine Plaza.

“We'd love to do more projects in Jefferson County,” Treatch said of being interested in other properties that might be for sale in Jefferson County. The county is considered one of the least affordable counties in the state for those with low incomes, while also having one of the oldest populations in the state.

“We're not sellers. We're long-term owners and we maintain the quality after they are renovated,” he said.

“We're excited about the opportunity to come into the community and preserve this asset. We're excited about being part of the community. We're one of the good guys out there that comes in to preserve affordable units,” he said.

The property, which overlooks Port Townsend Bay, was once used for a marine hospital to help needy seamen. The original facility opened in 1858, but then burned in 1893. A new facility, U.S. Marine Hospital No. 17, opened in 1897 and closed as a hospital in 1933, although it was used for other purposes before being demolished in the 1960s.

“It has views, and the neighborhood is peaceful,” Treatch said, adding that such amenities are not typical of affordable housing properties.

The current building was constructed in 1972, he said.