SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle officials for four years neglected to collect a $3.4 million payment for affordable housing from the developer of a luxury condominium project.
The Seattle Times reports (https://goo.gl/MVLkge ) officials secured the money with interest from the Insignia Towers project last year only after auditors reviewing the city’s incentive zoning program discovered the oversight.
In the meantime, two 41-story towers were built, condos began selling for more than $500,000 each and Seattle struggled with an affordable-housing shortage.
The Insignia Towers lapse is one of several findings in a new report that City Councilmember Mike O’Brien calls disappointing and embarrassing.
At O’Brien’s request, the Office of the City Auditor identified missing developer contributions, late payments, documentation discrepancies, uncollected fees and other issues.
Officials now have a quality-control supervisor and are installing new project-tracking software.
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Information from: The Seattle Times, https://www.seattletimes.com
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