Many of the housing options in Sammamish are not affordable for people, like educators, who actually work within the city.

“Everybody recognized we don’t have available housing for our teachers,” Councilmember Don Gerend said.

About 26 percent of Sammamish’s workforce is in public education, compared to 6 percent countywide, according to city data.

So breaking ground July 15 on the Habitat for Humanity project off of 228th Avenue Southeast, near Southeast 20th Street, is a great addition to the city, he said.

“It will provide an opportunity for families to live in Sammamish that originally couldn’t afford the retail market,” Gerend said.

On the 1.47-acre lot, Habitat volunteers will build 10 cottage homes.

Previously, the site contained a single-family home, called the “Lamb House,” which the city had used as a maintenance shop before donating it to the Habitat for Humanity.

Gerend was the mayor at the time the city approved the Habitat pilot program in 2011. This project is unique, in that it’s currently the only affordable housing option outside of the proposed Sammamish Town Center. At a minimum, 10 percent of the town center will be reserved for affordable housing.

“The term ‘affordable housing’ is describing a really wide range (of homes),” A Regional Coalition of Housing (ARCH) Program Manager Arthur Sullivan said.

Essentially, it’s “modest housing,” he said. These homes, on average, will be 1,200 square feet and will not exceed 1,600 square feet.

ARCH works, countywide, to address homelessness and affordable housing needs.

The Habitat project aims to provide low-income housing for families, who want to be homeowners, but whose annual income is around $40,000.

Sullivan says Habitat sets the price of the home to 30 percent of the family’s annual income; and future homeowners are required to put in 500 hours of work, whether that’s on the construction site or in the Habitat office.

“The down payment is your sweat equity,” he said.

He said this site will show current Sammamish residents that “small homes at a higher density can feel and look good in the community.”

The site is within the Issaquah School District. Students will be able to walk along the 228th corridor to Discovery Elementary, Pine Lake Middle School and Skyline High School.