Last month, Sno-Valley Senior Center hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the final phase of the Carnation Senior Apartments, a new senior living community in Carnation. The apartment complex is the lower Valley’s first affordable housing for seniors and the first income-restricted housing in Carnation. The building provides 15 one-bedroom apartments for seniors, five of which are reserved for veteran seniors.

“With this opening, we are able to support our senior neighbors and veterans to live affordably and to age in place on their own terms,” said Kira Avery, Executive Director of the Sno-Valley Senior Center. “Residents here will continue to be a part of the downtown Carnation community, which is in safe walking distance, and are able to keep active and stay connected with friends and service providers at the Sno-Valley Senior Center just next door.”

“The ability to live in one’s own home and community safely and comfortably is a huge cost burden, especially as we get older. This is a challenge that we’re seeing across King County and is a tremendous importance here in the lower Valley where nearly a third of residents are 55 and older,” said Simon Foster, Director of King County’s Housing and Community Development Division. “There are far too many barriers to housing, especially for seniors on fixed incomes. This, compounded by the need for more affordable housing in rural communities only exacerbates this problem. More must be done to ensure that our seniors and rural neighbors have the resources and opportunities to thrive and flourish. The opening of the Carnation Senior Apartments is an important step in that direction. 

In a 2021 feasibility study, the Sno-Valley Senior Center, which serves over 1,000 people each year, estimated that one-third of its members have extremely low incomes and live at or below 30% of the area median income. Back in 2021 in King County, 30% of the area’s median income was just over $24,000 a year for a single person.

The visioning work for the building began in 2018 during Sno-Valley Senior Center’s annual meeting. An overwhelming request for senior-only housing prompted a capital fundraising campaign to build a new housing complex for seniors in the community. After raising over $7 million through a series of grants, including a combined $1 million from King County’s Green Building Zero Energy program and Community Development Block Grants, the center had $1 million left to fundraise on their own. Through grassroots fundraising and a generous donation of $700,000 from an anonymous donor, Sno-Valley reached their fundraising goal in three months.

In her speech, Lisa Yeager, former Executive Director of the Sno-Valley Senior Center reminisced. “Can you imagine, in three months, our teeny-tiny senior center had to raise a million dollars…and we sure did it!” said Yeager. “This building is a testament to the closeness and strength of our community. Now, seniors can stay right here in the Snoqualmie Valley. They no longer have to move away when they can’t afford their homes anymore.”