Dear friends,
On March 4th we unveiled recommendations for the new affordable housing building we plan to construct at 24th and Union in the Central District - the site of a former KeyBank branch and the historic home of Liberty Bank, a multicultural institution and the first bank west of the Mississippi River to focus on serving the African American community. Because of the importance of this site, we convened an advisory board of local leaders to help determine the best ways to memorialize the bank and its importance to the community.
Michelle Purnell-Hepburn, daughter of one of the bank's founders, reminded us that Liberty Bank was founded in 1968, the same year Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Times were tumultuous. The African American community in Seattle had largely been relegated to the Central District through redlining and race-based exclusionary homeowner covenants. And few banks would lend money to Black families or businesses. So the community started their own bank - a brave endeavor that came to symbolize African American self-reliance.
We will honor this legacy by naming the future building the Liberty Bank Building and we look forward to incorporating recommendations from the advisory board into the development.
Read the press release here.
Christopher Persons, CEO
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Hazel Plaza Gets a New Look
We recently completed extensive interior and exterior renovations at our Hazel Plaza apartments. The celebration of the refreshed Hazel Plaza was a fun gathering of the building residents and the project team, who came together to admire the new kitchens, siding and other improvements.
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EcoDistrict Awarded for Creating Livable Communities
The Capitol Hill EcoDistrict is a proud recipient of a Futurewise 2015 Livable Communities Award. The EcoDistrict was chosen for recognizing the role of smart growth in meeting community needs and for fostering a healthy, vibrant and diverse neighborhood. CHH and the EcoDistrict were presented with the award at the Futurewise annual luncheon on March 17th.
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