New development brings affordable housing options to Shoreline - the 192 Shoreline Apartments

This building will be replaced with a seven-story affordable rents apartment building
Photo from Google maps

By Diane Hettrick

The property on the southeast corner of 192nd and Aurora has been through several dramatic changes over the years.

Previously owned by the Pearson family, for 25 years it was the site of the Sure-Fit mattress company, building and selling mattress from its 27,000 square foot building.

The mattress factory closed and the building, empty for a time, was leased to locally owned Aurora Rents while they built their new three story building on their property at 175th and Aurora.

It was empty again until 2013 when it was leased to the Rat City Roller Derby - Shoreline's first and only professional sports team.

Suddenly, Shoreline was full of roller derby fans. Rat City used the building, which they named The Rat's Nest, for practices, for exhibition matches, B and C team matches, and for the Derby Brats girls' teams. Jet City Roller Derby from Everett used the building for their matches.

Lance Neubauer's gym Get Strong First had a separate space in the building.

The property is triangular, fronting on Aurora. The hillside behind the property belongs to Seattle City Light. The Interurban Trail is visible beyond that. Google maps.

In March of 2018, the Trent Development Group bought the property and announced plans for The Crux, a six-story 244-unit apartment building. The design included a large space for Neubauer's gym, but Rat City had to find new quarters.

The Crux was to break ground in 2019 and be completed in 2021. New owners tried unsuccessfully to find a new space for Rat City. In March of 2019 Rat City left for temporary quarters provided by the Seattle Parks department.

Lance Neubauer is very happy with his new gym space in the back half of the Subway Sandwich building just off Aurora at 185th and is in full operation with all COVID-19 protocols observed.

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed everything down. Financial arrangements changed, based on assessment of risks. Some deals were able to go forward, as witness all the townhouse construction in Shoreline, but many fell by the wayside.

Today there is new life for this property. 

New owners TWG (www.twgdev.com), are a real estate development company specializing in commercial, market rate, affordable, and senior housing developments.

They have announced the start of two new affordable housing developments in King County: 192 Shoreline Apartments and Grata at Totem Lake Apartments east of the lake.

Construction on 192 Shoreline is expected to commence mid-2021, and is projected to be completed by mid-2023.

192 Shoreline will offer affordably priced living spaces for residents earning less than 50% of the county’s area median income.

Located at 19022 Aurora Ave., 192 Shoreline will be a seven-story housing development featuring 250 units ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments.

Among other features, 192 Shoreline will include a community facility for the services and co-ownership partner Alpha Supported Living Services, a local nonprofit organization that has been providing support to individuals and families living with developmental disabilities for nearly five decades.

“Partnering with TWG will help us create a new space to continue supporting the needs of our clients and their families,” said Scott Livengood, CEO of Alpha Supported Living Services. 

“Our community facility within Shoreline will allow us to reach more individuals and maximize each person’s quality of life.”

TWG will also partner for services and co-ownership with nonprofit services agency LifeWire to increase housing options for survivors of domestic violence in east and north King County.

LifeWire has served the community for nearly four decades, connecting nearly 150,000 survivors of domestic violence with services to reach greater safety, freedom, and healing.

“Affordable housing is the greatest unmet need we face for survivors in King County,” said Rachel Krinsky, executive director for LifeWire. 

“This partnership will grow LifeWire’s capacity to help survivors and their children leave abusive homes by offering an affordable, supportive and healing environment.”

192 Shoreline was designed considering neighborhood connections and high-green building values.

“Twenty percent of the total units are reserved for large households with four or more people and the properties are pet friendly,” said Megan Adams, development director focused on Washington and Oregon for TWG. 

“Not only are we looking forward to expanding our presence in the Seattle market, but we are honored to be partnering with local nonprofits that have served King County communities for decades: Alpha Supported Living Services and LifeWire.”

To learn more about TWG and its properties, visit www.twgdev.com or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.