Mercy Housing Northwest Breaks Ground on 233-Unit Affordable Apartment Homes at Kent Multicultural Village Adjacent to Light Rail

Mercy Housing and Open Doors for Multicultural Families broke ground March 18, 2026, on the Kent Multicultural Village (MCV), a 233-unit affordable housing development in Kent, Washington, located adjacent to the Kent/Des Moines Light Rail Station in South King County.

The development is located on the 23600 block of Pacific Highway South and will deliver affordable apartment homes for households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income.

Affordable Housing Development Designed for Inclusive Living

The Kent Multicultural Village will set aside 47 units — representing 20% of the total 233 affordable apartment homes — specifically designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. The development addresses a documented gap in Washington State, where an estimated 37,000 people with IDD face housing insecurity, according to the project announcement.

More than half of the homes will feature two or more bedrooms, including some four-bedroom units, targeting a critical shortage of affordable family-sized rental housing in the region. The unit mix aligns with the City of Kent's Housing Options Plan, which prioritizes housing for large and intergenerational households.

The project was codeveloped by Mercy Housing Northwest and Open Doors for Multicultural Families, a Kent-based nonprofit specializing in services for IDD and multicultural populations.

Funding Coalition

The project draws from a broad coalition of public and private funding sources. Amazon's Housing Fund contributed $23.3 million via a loan to the development. The Washington State Department of Commerce committed $8 million toward housing and $16.8 million toward non-residential components. King County pre-committed $5 million to the selected project, with $14.8 million allocated to housing and $1.2 million to non-residential uses.

Additional funders include JP Morgan Chase Bank, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, the National Equity Fund, Senator Patty Murray, the Stolte Family Foundation, the SYL Foundation, the Norcliffe Foundation, the Joshua Green Family Foundation, and Fidelity Charitable.

Sound Transit provided the site at a reduced cost through a competitive selection process as part of its transit-oriented development strategy.

Development Features Retail and Community Space

Beyond residential units, the development will incorporate a range of ground-floor and community amenities. Open Doors for Multicultural Families will operate on the basement and ground floors, housing an inclusive Early Learning Center focused on diverse families and children with developmental and intellectual disabilities, as well as a Family Resource Center with office space for Open Doors for Multicultural Families and other nonprofit organizations.

Retail space on the ground floor is specifically designed to serve transit users traveling to and from the adjacent Sound Transit and Metro bus facilities. A public plaza adjacent to the north entrance of the transit station will feature public art and flexible space for community events.

Residents will also have access to on-site services through Mercy Housing's Family Services and Mercy Scholars programs.

Transit-Oriented Development Context

Sound Transit selected Mercy Housing Northwest and Open Doors for Multicultural Families to develop the site through a competitive process. The project's developers and funders have emphasized the development's role in preventing displacement of low-income renters as redevelopment activity accelerates around the new transit infrastructure.

Development partners include Walsh Construction Company as general contractor, Schemata Workshop and CAST Architecture as architects, Coughlin Porter Lundeen for structural engineering, and Berger Partnership for landscape architecture, among others. Additional partners include Lotus Company, Latitude 48, Geoengineers, La Union Studio, Studio Pacifica, and Headwater Peoples.

Sources

Mercy Housing Northwest — Celebrating the Groundbreaking of the Kent Multicultural Village (March 23, 2026)