Dear friends and neighbors,

This year’s state supplemental capital budget includes hundreds of new investments to build and improve public infrastructure around the state. To address the shortage of affordable housing, the budget includes an additional $200 million in housing and homelessness funding. This includes $123 million for the Housing Trust Fund, supporting dozens of affordable housing projects. Thanks to strong community advocacy, several projects in the 43rd district received support this year.

Local community projects

Projects funded in the new capital budget include large clean energy upgrades and community spaces where we learn and connect. Below are some highlights:

A boiler in the UW Power Plant has been modified to produce lower-pressure steam for heating campus, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  • $47.5 million for the UW Power Plant Electrification & Campus Hot Water Loop to help decarbonize UW’s energy system
  • $11 million to allow Seattle Central College to update its steam system – improving safety and reducing carbon emissions
  • $7.215 million for CoLead Seattle to acquire and develop a permanent facility for shelter and services for chronically homeless individuals
  • $6 million to allow the City of Seattle to purchase the former Montlake Market property from WSDOT to provide affordable homeownership opportunities to at least 50 moderate-income households
  • $258,000 for FareStart Culinary Job Training Classroom renovation, modernizing and upgrading the space for a better teaching environment for future students and staff and to meet code requirements
  • $155,000 to help with the replacement of the Sadako Sasaki statue at Peace Park that was stolen in 2024
A life-size bronze of Sadako Sasaki (a young Japanese girl who survived the Hiroshima bombing only to die of radiation sickness at age 12) was stolen in 2024. Funding in this year’s capital budget will help replace the statue.

I look forward to watching these infrastructure improvements take shape and make a difference in our community in the coming months and years.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. If you missed my newsletters on the Millionaires Tax, affordable housing, efforts to protect Washington from the Trump administration, or LGBTQ+ rights, they are available on my website. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions at Jamie.Pedersen@leg.wa.gov.

Best wishes,

Jamie