News Story

Community-led development of HUD EnVision Center in Skyway neighborhood is being supported by Renton Innovation Zone Partnership, King County Housing Authority & U.S. Bank

Jan. 19, 2024 — Seattle

Ten years after an inclusive Community Center Visioning Process and after years of local engagement in comprehensive planning, on Jan. 18, West Hill’s Skyway community celebrated the Skyway Resource Center’s groundbreaking.

“This is a huge, tangible win for our neighborhood and is a truly a community-owned development,” said Ryan Quigtar, Executive Director of Renton Innovation Zone Partnership (RIZP).

This new facility – designated a HUD EnVision Center – will be a multi-service resource hub providing access to economic empowerment, educational advancement, health and wellness, and character-leadership services in the Skyway community – an unincorporated section of King County with limited resources. The Skyway Resource Center will occupy land and a 4,568 square-foot building donated by U.S. Bank in 2021. It will replace an existing mobile resource center launched by RIZP in 2020 to help fill the void of services available to Skyway residents.

This project is personal for Quigtar, who grew up in the Skyway community and wrote a business plan for a youth center in Skyway back in 2012 while attending college at the University of Miami in Florida.

“This will be a welcoming space that helps everyone in our community thrive,” Quigtar said. “In addition to the many other benefits the Skyway Resource Center will bring, it will help young people with their homework, help them find a job, help them make new friends. For youth to understand they have options is super powerful.”

King County Housing Authority (KCHA) is serving as a steward of the project and is providing technical support to the community organizations leading the project’s development. KCHA is also serving as the property’s fiscal agent and overseeing building improvements.

“We are all about helping improve and grow communities that haven’t had the services and investments other communities have,” said KCHA CEO Robin Walls. “It’s an honor to support this impressive community effort, which will enhance our housing activities in the area and enrich all Skyway-West Hill residents.”

In addition to donating the property at 12610 76th Ave S., U.S. Bank is providing an ATM, financial support and financial literacy resources to the facility.

“U.S. Bank is proud to be a partner of the Skyway Resource Center, and we’re humbled by the important work that these organizations do to provide resources to the Skyway community,” said Chris Befumo, U.S. Bank Branch Banking Market Leader for Washington. “Acknowledging the incredible efforts from the Renton Innovation Zone Partnership to support this community via their mobile resource center, it’s time that they get a permanent home to continue their mission. At U.S. Bank, we strive to ensure that everyone has access to the tools, resources and networks that allow businesses and communities to thrive. The Skyway Resource Center will play a significant role in delivering exactly that for this community.”

The Skyway Resource Center is expected to open its doors in October 2024, and will house more than a dozen nonprofit, public and community-based organizations providing a comprehensive array of services. The collaboration has been years in development and was ultimately made possible by the generous support of funding partners including King County, the State of Washington, the Ballmer Group, Norcliffe Foundation, Sunderland Foundation, LISC and 4-Culture. 

"I'm thrilled to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Skyway Resource Center in our 37th District,” said Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle. “From its start in 2020, responding to COVID-19 challenges, to now having a permanent home, this marks a significant achievement. The Skyway Resource Center's new home symbolizes the strength of our community’s spirit, and I'm confident it will continue to be a vital resource for our neighbors."

To learn more about the Skyway Resource Center, visit https://www.skywayresourcecenter.org/.