OUR RICH HISTORY

 

THE WHITE CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD

 

White Center-Boulevard Park is an extremely unique community of approximately 32,000 people located in unincorporated King County, adjacent to the city of Seattle and just north of the city of Burien, Washington. WC-BP has the distinct characteristics of an historic streetcar-era suburb, and has retained most of the original buildings constructed during 1912-1933. (King County recently did a Historic Survey of downtown White Center and is recommending that the CDA designate 47 buildings as local historic landmarks.) At the same time, due to a substantial amount of inexpensive, small commercial spaces and the affordability of nearby housing, WC-BP has become a welcoming gateway for immigrants and refugees who arrived, settled, raised families, established businesses and grew social, cultural and religious institutions.

 

Of the 32,000 residents in the neighborhood, half are people of color; one in five residents is Asian American and one in ten is Latino. The four largest groups are Asian & Pacific Islanders with large populations from Vietnam, Cambodia and Samoa; Latinos from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, East Africans from Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea; and Eastern Europeans from Russia, Bosnia and the Ukraine. The latest Census data shows that the percentage of people of color in White Center (50 percent) surpasses King County’s 25 percent and Seattle’s 32 percent population of people of color.

 

White Center’s commercial district is another example of diversity, with the majority of businesses owned by immigrants from Southeast Asia. White Center’s downtown business district is comprised of approximately 137 businesses in a 9 block area. For instance, businesses on the main street on 16th Avenue SW include a Mexican tortilla factory, a historic pharmacy, several Vietnamese restaurants, the Salvadoran bakery, and Cambodian grocery stores.

 

However in addition to being one of the most diverse areas in King County, White Center has its challenges. According to the 2000 Census, median household income is $40,000 compared to $53,000 in King County. One in six people in White Center live in poverty, and one in three do not earn a living wage. 15 percent of White Center households live with incomes below the Federal Poverty Level, compared to only 8 percent in King County. Almost 40 percent of households with children are headed by a single parent, mostly women. 27 percent of White Center adults do not have a high school diploma, which is more than double the percentage of King County as a whole. Sixty percent of children at three of four White Center Schools are eligible for the Free/Reduced Price lunch program, which is three times higher than the King County average.

 

White Center housing is dominated by single family homes (72 percent) of which 54 percent are owner-occupied homes. Though White Center homes are still lower priced than King County’s average ($147,500 compared to $235,000 in King County), they face rapidly increasing housing prices. Over the last 2 years, homes in King County have averaged a $30,000 increase. Thirty-one percent of rental housing in White Center is subsidized (22 percent public housing and 9 percent housing vouchers). Affordable housing generally means that housing costs are no more than 30 percent of the household’s income. In White Center, 45 percent of renters and 26 percent of owners spend more than this for rents or mortgages- an indication that there is a lack of affordable housing in the neighborhood.

 

Today in 2008, WC-BP is a community on the rise. With recent investments from King County, the Annie E. Casey Foundation,  Gates Foundation/Thrive by Five, King County Housing Authority, just to name a few,  the neighborhood and our families have begun to reap the rewards. Looking ahead however, many are concerned about the threats to the character of the community if rising housing prices and sluggish regional economies force displacement and cause gentrification. We believe investment can occur without displacement- thus, the desire to coordinate these investments anchored in resident voice and leadership and permanent affordability of housing and commercial and community facilities.

 

 

MORE HISTORICAL PHOTOS

 

THE WHITE CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD

 

Click photo to enlarge.

 

 

THE BOULEVARD PARK NEIGHBORHOOD

 

coming soon.