Housing Access: The Cost of Affordability
October 16, 2026 | Housing
When we talk about affordable housing, the conversation often focuses on one big question: How do we build more homes that people can afford?
The simple answer? Funding.
In King County, creating affordable housing is very expensive. Depending on the project, location, construction type, and financing, total development costs can reach anywhere from $400,000 to $800,000 per unit. Costs include construction labor and material, design, permitting, financing, energy-efficiency requirements and many other expenses that play into the overall cost to build. Due to these expenses, and also the long-term costs to sustain these communities and requirements to keep rents at an affordable limit, affordable housing development isn’t usually attractive to traditional, market-rate developers.
Because of this, affordable housing in King County is generally created by non-profits, housing authorities, and mission-driven developers utilizing a complicated financing partnership rather than through one financing source. Non-profits and housing developers, like MSC and our housing partner Blue Ridge Cascade, put together multiple public and private funding sources to make a project financially possible.
When undertaking a project the size of MSC’s new affordable housing development in downtown Federal Way, this can mean that once we have a build site, compiling all the financing necessary to break ground on construction will likely take several years. So, while new affordable housing is in the works, it can take years before that impact is felt in the community.
There is another question that deserves just as much attention: How do we keep current housing communities affordable and well-maintained year after year so they can continue to serve our community?
Affordable housing is not simply about constructing a building. It is about creating safe, stable homes—and sustaining them over time. That requires ongoing investment in everything from maintenance and repairs to staffing, utilities, insurance, property management, and resident services.
Running a housing property is expensive, regardless of whether the apartments are market-rate or affordable. Affordable housing projects often struggle to balance offering affordable rents and meeting the demands of increasing operational expenses. That gap is one of the central challenges of maintaining affordable housing.
Unlike a market-rate property, an affordable housing community cannot simply raise rents whenever operating costs increase. Rents are generally restricted by affordability requirements, residents’ incomes, or program rules. So when the cost of insurance, labor, utilities, supplies, and repairs rises, providers must find other ways to make up the difference.
There is also a side to operating affordable housing that may look different than market-rate housing. Residents at affordable housing properties often can benefit from services that provide resources that help them remain successfully housed, such as on-site case managers or an on-site food bank such as the one MSC offers at Redondo Heights. These services can make the difference between simply having an apartment and having the stability and support needed to thrive.
Affordable housing doesn’t just provide a place to live. It gives people the stability to work, raise families, stay connected to their communities, and build a future. And when people have that stability, the entire community benefits.
How can you help support affordable housing? Be a champion for affordable housing in our community! Support more public investment for affordable housing, encourage individual and local corporate contributions, and volunteer at sites that offer on-site services like MSC’s Food Bank at Redondo Heights!
We love it so much – couldn’t be happier. We finally have a chance to get back on our feet! – MSC Affordable Housing Resident
Fast facts about MSC’s new affordable housing project in downtown Federal Way:
- Total cost for the project is estimated at $165M.
- Building cost per unit is approximately $705k.
- This project adds to 23 units of affordable housing to MSC’s existing portfolio of over 1,100 units throughout South King and Pierce Counties.
- Includes ground floor retail and community space.
- Groundbreaking estimated near the end of 2028.