At a Glance
Preserving and Retrofitting Seattle’s Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Buildings
How big is this challenge for Seattle?
There are at least 1,140 unreinforced masonry buildings (URMs) widely dispersed throughout the city.
These buildings, which represent a significant portion of the city’s historic and cultural character, pose a substantial threat to public safety in the event of an earthquake. Passage of mandatory URM retrofit legislation, modeled on the City’s URM Policy Committee’s recommendations, will both protect lives and preserve our historic legacy. Retrofitting these buildings can be very costly and require creative financing solutions, without which, hundreds of older buildings in the city will likely be demolished before they are retrofitted.
Key URM Statistics
33,000 SEATTLE RESIDENTS live and work in URM buildings—almost twice the seating capacity of Key Arena
2,300+ AFFORDABLE RENTAL UNITS ARE HOUSED IN URM BUILDINGS approximately 13% of the total affordable and available housing units in the city
58% ARE DESIGNATED AS HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT
16% HOUSE AT LEAST ONE WOMEN or MINORITY- OWNED BUSINESS
URM Hotspots
URMs are found all over the city, but downtown and Capitol Hill have the highest concentrations.
What does it cost to retrofit?
There are 23.4M square feet of URM building space requiring some level of upgrade.
Based on a number of studies, the range of cost to perform the necessary upgrades is quite wide, but the average is likely to be approximately $50/square foot. This translates to a total cost of $1.17B, assuming that all identified URM buildings in the city are retrofitted to meet the recommended technical standard. The goal is to provide property owners with affordable financing options to complete retrofits and thereby increase safety, maintain affordable living and working space, and preserve the city’s historical and cultural heritage.
What are some potential solutions for financing retrofits?
Create a URM Seismic Retrofit Credit program.
A group of developers, preservationists, and other concerned stakeholders recently formulated the concept for a URM seismic retrofit credit. Modeled after a transfer of development rights (TDR) program, the URM seismic retrofit credit program would allow URM property owners to sell undeveloped air rights to property developers, who could then apply them as a density bonus on parcels elsewhere in the city. If passed by the City Council as part of mandatory seismic upgrade legislation, this credit would leverage private investment toward seismic retrofits, while minimizing the financial burden on both the city and URM property owners.
Leverage historic preservation incentives.
A recent survey suggests that more than 60% of URMs have historic character and may be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. If designated, the Federal Historic Tax Credit could be applied to 20% of seismic retrofit costs. Coupled with the Washington State Special Tax Valuation program for historic properties, preservation incentives could be powerful tools for financing URM retrofits.
Tap potential public and private funding sources.
Combining a well-designed URM seismic retrofit credit program with available historic preservation incentives may cover the bulk of the cost for many URM retrofits. Where needed, these sources could be supplemented through a variety of public and private channels, including housing levy funds, a bond issue, local improvement district assessments, loan pools, city credit to guarantee private loans, foundation funding, and others.
