Orenda is a brand new 325,000 square-foot 7-story middle income, mixed-use equitable Transit Oriented Development (eTOD) located in Seattle, WA directly adjacent to the Othello Light Rail Station. Orenda features 176 apartment homes with a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units affordable to households earning between 65% – 120% of AMI. The first two floors of the project are occupied by the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC), promoting child wellness by covering primary medical, dental, nutritional, mental health and basic needs, as well as Tiny Tots Development Center providing childcare services, preschool, and early childhood education. Orenda represents the culmination of years of work to plan and develop a true eTOD project combining both workforce housing, healthcare, and childcare in a single building.

Orenda is truly a community-driven project as the community engaged in almost 10 years of work to establish the vision for the project and participated heavily throughout the project, as evidenced by a giant 5-story mural on the façade of the building representing stories from the community.

The project is one of the first of its kind in the country to structure an impact equity investment ensuring that 40% (72) of the apartments are set aside at 80% of AMI for at least 20 years. Additionally, the project achieved 60% Women or Minority Owned Business Enterprise (WMBE) design consultant participation and over 35% WMBE subcontractor participation during construction.

Orenda has been designed and built to very high sustainability standards including an USGBC LEED Gold Certification. The project features solar panels on the roof, green roof areas for stormwater management, rainwater filtration, and many other energy efficient design features. As an eTOD project, Orenda features only 100 parking stalls which are shared between residents and clinic staff/patients to help promote wellness through public transportation and biking. Orenda also includes a shared fitness center and bike room, rooftop club room and deck, dog run, and shared amenity spaces.

Location: Seattle, Washington
Developer: Spectrum Development Communities