Affordable Housing is an Investment in the Kent Community

To know Kent is to love Kent. It’s easy to understand how people quickly become enamored with Kent’s picturesque landscape, host of local businesses, and impressive schools. But the driving force behind our community is, and always has been, its people. From business owners and employees, to teachers at Kent Center School, to volunteer firefighters and ambulance drivers, Kent’s residents make our town such a great place to live.

The unfortunate reality is that many of our town’s current residents cannot afford to live here. Recent data from 2023 shows that one-third of Kent households qualify as “cost burdened”, paying more than 30% of their income on housing. Within this group, 128 families pay a whopping 50% or more of their income on housing.

Potential new residents, including current employees at local businesses, are also deterred by the cost of housing in Kent. According to the Zillow Home Value Index, the average Kent ownership home costs $548,404. Rentals are also notoriously scarce. At the time of writing, there were only ten rentals less than 20 miles from Kent’s downtown, and the cheapest option cost $1,950/month. There are currently more than 60 families on the waitlist for affordable rentals in Kent.

At Kent Affordable Housing, we see this challenge as an opportunity to invest in our community. The demand for affordable housing is strong, and with additional supply, the benefits to Kent would be astronomical.

Increasing Kent’s affordable housing supply would strengthen our community in a myriad of ways. A wider array of housing options would help Kent maintain the diversity in residents that it currently enjoys, supporting people who work at local businesses and young families whose children bolster school enrollments. Affordable housing has also been shown to improve local economies. Building 100 affordable rental homes can generate $11.7 M in local income, $2.2 M in tax revenue, and 161 local jobs in the first year alone. Contrary to some beliefs, affordable housing has a neutral or positive effect on surrounding property values. 

Affordable housing would also benefit the many deserving individuals and families who choose to live in our town. Young people just starting their careers would be able to put down roots near their friends, family, and employers. Seniors would be able to downsize into more affordable and more manageable homes in town. More children would benefit from our wonderful public school. And people of all ages would enjoy peace of mind and better health by freeing up resources for nutritious food and healthcare.

KAH is “all in” on affordable housing, and we are grateful to be supported by the town of Kent, local businesses, and our neighbors. Taking little or no funds from town budgets, KAH puts to work grants from state and federal sources, and money provided by its local supporters and friends to build affordable homes that add value to the community. Our work brings more customers, workers, and volunteers to local businesses and organizations; creates structures that are models of environmentally friendly construction; and above all, brings people home.