Affordable Senior Housing Rooted in Community and Culture

Ethiopian Village | Seattle, WA

Ethiopian Village brings together 90 affordable homes for older adults with an expanded home for Ethiopian Community in Seattle, creating a multigenerational center for housing, services, education, culture, and community life in Seattle’s Rainier Valley.

Developed by Ethiopian Community in Seattle and HumanGood, the project responds to the growing displacement and housing instability affecting lower-income seniors in South Seattle. The five-story residential building offers studio and one-bedroom apartments for adults 55 and older, located near the Rainier Beach light rail station and several bus routes. Large windows bring natural light into the homes, while community lounges, a resident gathering room, outdoor amenity spaces, and a central courtyard provide places to meet, relax, and spend time with neighbors.

The project also preserved and completely renovated ECS’s existing 9,400-square-foot community center and added approximately 5,000 square feet of new community-oriented space within the residential building. Together, these spaces support after-school programs, summer camps, coding and cultural education, senior meals and exercise classes, health workshops, social services, small-business assistance, community celebrations, and other culturally responsive programs for Ethiopian and East African families.

By combining affordable senior housing with ECS’s programs and gathering spaces, Ethiopian Village supports elders in staying connected to their community while helping a longstanding cultural organization continue to serve from a permanent home.

COMMUNITY DESIGN

Environmental Works partnered closely with ECS to understand the community’s ideas, priorities, and needs for the new housing, community center, and service spaces. Three hands-on design workshops were incorporated into ECS’s monthly Kurse community program, making it easier for residents and families to participate in a familiar setting.

Community leaders invited participants to the workshops, while interpreters, catering, and facilitators helped make the process welcoming and accessible. Through interactive activities and detailed conversations, community members shared how Ethiopian traditions and culture could be reflected in the building’s organization, gathering spaces, materials, colors, landscape, and artwork.

The high level of participation throughout the workshops and design review meetings provided clear guidance for the project and helped build community ownership in the finished design. Public art by Eritrean Ethiopian American artist Yegizaw “Yeggy” Michael, developed with a local art steering committee, further reflects the culture and identity of the community throughout the completed building.

AWARDS

Night of the Stars - Community Impact Award

Client
Ethiopian Community in Seattle (ECS)

HumanGood

Services
Architectural and Landscape Architectural Design

Sustainability
ESDS (Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard)

Project Size
90 Units | Community Center & Meeting Space | ±75,000 SF

Completion
2023

Contractor
Walsh Construction Co.