Enterprise awards HUD Section 4 capacity-building grants to community development corporations and community housing development organizations across the country to strengthen and expand their reach. We’re proud to spotlight the work of El Centro de la Raza and how this funding deepens its impact on Seattle’s Latino community.
Please tell us a little bit about your organization.
As an organization grounded in the Latino community of Washington State for 52 years, it is the mission of El Centro de la Raza (The Center for People of All Races) to build the Beloved Community through unifying all racial and economic sectors; to organize, empower, and defend the basic human rights of our most vulnerable and marginalized populations; and to bring critical consciousness, justice, dignity, and equity to all the peoples of the world.
El Centro de la Raza provides 43 culturally and linguistically integrative programs and services. These include emergency and human services, child and youth programs, financial education and asset-building programs, housing and economic development programs, community organizing programs, and advocacy.
Our child and youth programs include child development, after-school tutoring, and workshops to expose youth to Latino history, the arts, and community activism. Adult programming includes financial empowerment workshops, ESL classes, and critical services that help meet community members' immediate needs, such as hunger, homelessness, healthcare, and access to benefits.
What does community mean to El Centro?
El Centro de la Raza is deeply rooted in the concept of the “Beloved Community,” a vision championed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His dream was to build a society free from poverty, racism, militarism, and violence.
In alignment with Dr. King's vision, El Centro de la Raza’s mixed-use developments prioritize affordable housing as a foundational element. These developments also include child development centers, commercial and economic opportunities, community and cultural spaces, and access to services that empower and uplift families, reduce isolation and build multi-racial unity.
How have Section 4 grants help build El Centro de la Raza’s organizational capacity?
The Section 4 grants have significantly bolstered our capacity to develop additional affordable housing units and childcare centers while strengthening our organization through key partnerships.
For instance, we’ve collaborated with a faith-based organization on the Four Amigos Beloved Community affordable housing project in Columbia City. These grants have also enabled us to partner with Edge Developers, a private developer, to expand our Beacon Hill campus with 72 new affordable housing units, set to break ground in early 2025.
The Section 4 funds also supported our acquisition of 3.5 acres in Federal Way. We aim to create a mixed-use South Seattle campus featuring affordable housing, a child development center, various programs and services, a youth and senior center, and an outdoor market.
What challenges has your organization faced while navigating the affordable housing development space?
Like many other community-based organizations, El Centro de la Raza needs to continue developing and strengthening its capacity to effectively support low-income communities and communities of color now and in the future.
We actively advocate within the housing development community and with local elected officials to prioritize capacity building and funding for these communities. Addressing this issue is a matter of equity, and it is crucial to strengthen these organizations to develop the necessary assets to serve their communities for generations to come.
What are some of the developments El Centro is currently working on and what are the needs they serve?
We are happy to report that we are almost finished with constructing the Four Amigos Beloved Community development and anticipate completion in December. The site has 87 apartments in a single, six-story building, offering 40 one-bedroom, 29 two-bedroom and 18 three-bedroom apartments. Onsite amenities for residents will include a management office, community room, outdoor rooftop space, and laundry rooms. In addition to apartments, there will be a church and a child development center on the ground floor.
The Four Amigos development is a faith-based partnership with the Church of Hope, which will own a 2,600-square-foot community church with onsite parking. Services and events held by the church will be open to the community. In addition, the project includes a 6,600-square-foot dual language, multicultural child development center with four classrooms and outdoor play space that will be owned and operated by El Centro, which will serve 68 children.
We are also partnering with the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) to lease and operate the childcare center at the planned Pacific Tower Affordable Housing Development on North Beacon Hill in Seattle.
This summer, the City of Seattle’s Office of Housing announced the selection of El Centro de la Raza and Mercy Housing as the development team for the Mt. Baker transit-oriented redevelopment project. The development will include community-serving commercial spaces, public open spaces, a public park, and 438 affordable homes. It will also include space for the University of Washington Rainier Valley Early Learning Center, a 30,000-square-foot facility for teaching, education, and support of early childhood teaching professionals.