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Helping a Black Church Keep Seniors in the Neighborhood Seattle’s historically Black neighborhood, known as the Central District, has been undergoing intense gentrification over the last decade, driven by the city’s soaring home prices. So we’ve been especially proud to assist Mount Zion Housing Development (MZHD), an arm of Seattle’s second-oldest Black church, in its plans to build a new apartment building, close by the church, that will provide 62 affordable units to seniors who are at risk of displacement. Last December, Mt. Zion achieved a crucial milestone, as the Seattle Office of Housing announced millions of dollars in investment for the project. “There’s severe competition for public dollars, so this is a huge win for our client,” says Brent Droze, an associate in our real estate and land use practice group, who has been advising MZHD. Construction is now expected to get underway this summer. “It brings me immense satisfaction that we’ve helped advance this project to a point where it’s not merely a dream but an increasingly tangible reality,” says Brent, who has been supported by DWT partners Rhys Farren and Warren Koons. “This is the type of real change I think we all envision when we begin our careers as attorneys.”
