Redmond City Council OKs more airport parking

The Redmond City Council, meeting Tuesday evening at the Redmond Airport, approved plans to expand airport parking and for an upgrade to the car rental facility.

Roberts Field has seen a 75 percent increase in travelers over the past five years, and that means more funds will be needed to keep up with that growth.

Airport Director Zach Bass said with the support of the city, the hope is to make traveling at Roberts Field much easier.

“We are going to add 300 spots so there will be more parking for customers,” Bass said. “It might be a slightly different location, but still in walking distance. And we are also going to take a look and discuss our current parking lot fees and what is really needed in the future to really expand our customer base.”

The planned parking project will add around 300 new parking spots at the airport.

But to keep up with costs for improvements at the airport, that could mean parking fees could be raised soon.

The airport is working to get together $85 million in funds to get their planned projects done.

The city council will decide how much they want to increase parking fees at an upcoming meeting.

The council also took steps Tuesday toward creating more affordable housing options in Redmond.

New affordable housing options could soon be coming to Redmond as it’s working to add nearly 50 new affordable housing units.

The city is partnering with Housing Works and working with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development on a project to add nearly 50 new affordable housing units at Fifth Street and Greenwood Avenue.

Jodi Burch, accounting director with the city, said the project will help those who need it most, because the homes will be for those who make less than 80 percent of the region’s median household income.

“Over a third of our renters are what is considered rent-burdened, or severely rent-burdened, which means they pay more then half of their income to rent every single month,” Burch said. “So there is definitely a need for affordable housing within Redmond.”

Councilors on Tuesday approved giving Housing Works $450,000 for the project. But HUD must approve the money transfer before Housing Works can get to work.

If everything goes smoothly, Burch said they plan to start construction in the fall of 2019, and hope to have the project complete and ready for move-in by the fall of 2020.