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**What did Snohomish County’s $23 million housing and behavioral health vote on April 24, 2026 actually fund in Everett?**
The unanimous April 24 vote awarded approximately $23 million across six capital projects, three of them in Everett: $5.8 million to the Everett Gospel Mission for a 172-bed shelter expansion at 3530 Smith Avenue (tripling the current footprint, ~$30M total project, October–November 2026 construction start, first phase open for the 2027 cold-weather season); $4.2 million to the Helping Hands Project for a 28-unit affordable apartment building at 2410 and 2412 Broadway (Broadway 33, completion targeted February 2028); and a grant to the Everett Station District Alliance for a 58-unit transit-oriented building at 3102 Smith Avenue. The funding source is two voter-authorized sales taxes earmarked for affordable and supportive housing — no tax change, no new fee.
On Wednesday, April 24, 2026, the Snohomish County Council voted unanimously to award roughly $23 million in capital grants to six affordable-housing and behavioral-health projects across the county. Three of the funded projects are inside Everett city limits.
For Everett residents, this is the single largest piece of capital funding to land for housing in the city this year. For neighbors of the three project sites, the next 18–22 months will turn that money into permitted, occupied buildings.
This is the complete guide to what each project gets, what it builds, when residents will see results, and where the money came from.
The Funding Mechanism — How $23 Million Got Approved Without Raising a Tax
The vote did not change a tax rate or raise a fee. The money flowed out of the county’s Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, which is fed by two voter-authorized sales taxes specifically earmarked for affordable and supportive housing.
The Council’s Human Services Department screened applications and recommended a slate of six projects for funding. The April 24 vote moved that slate into capital allocation.
That mechanism matters: it’s the difference between a county “spending more on housing” and a county “moving already-collected dedicated revenue into specific projects.” This was the latter. The funding stream existed; the vote chose where to direct it.
Project One — Everett Gospel Mission: $5.8 Million for 172 Beds
The Mission’s award was the largest of the six, at $5.8 million. The grant goes toward a 172-bed expansion of the Mission’s existing shelter at 3530 Smith Avenue — roughly tripling the current building’s footprint.
Total project budget: approximately $30 million. The county’s $5.8 million stacks on top of money already committed by the City of Everett, prior philanthropic giving, and a state legislative allocation approved earlier in 2026.
CEO Sylvia Anderson has said construction is targeted for an October or November 2026 start. The first phase is intended to be open for the 2027 cold-weather season.
The expanded building will have:
- Separate spaces for men and women
- 24-hour on-site staff
- A small store for residents to access necessities
- Kennels and a wash station for residents’ pets
- A craft room
The current shelter keeps operating throughout construction.
For Everett residents, the Mission’s expansion is the closest thing to a measurable change in the city’s homeless-response capacity over the next 18 months. The Mission already runs the largest emergency shelter in Snohomish County. After the expansion, it will be larger by roughly a factor of three.
Project Two — Helping Hands at Broadway 33: $4.2 Million for 28 Apartments
The second-largest Everett-bound award was $4.2 million to the Helping Hands Project for a 28-unit affordable apartment building at 2410 and 2412 Broadway, in the city’s North Broadway corridor.
According to the county, the building will serve “those who are disadvantaged or have special needs.” The Helping Hands Project, a Snohomish County nonprofit, has been moving the project forward under the working name Broadway 33. Project completion is currently targeted for February 2028.
For neighbors on North Broadway, the practical effect is two parcels currently fronting the corridor moving from their current condition into a permitted, occupied apartment building over the next 22 months. For the city’s affordable-housing inventory, it is 28 deed-restricted units that did not exist before.
Project Three — Everett Station District Alliance: 58 Units on Smith Avenue
The third Everett-located award went to the Everett Station District Alliance, the nonprofit working to redevelop the area around Everett Station into a transit-oriented neighborhood. ESDA’s planned project at 3102 Smith Avenue is a 58-unit, low-income mixed-use building.
According to ESDA’s own filings, the unit mix breaks down as 15 units at 30 percent of area median income (the deepest affordability tier in the county’s stack), with the remaining units at higher AMI tiers up through 60 percent.
For the Station District redevelopment plan — which has been in motion for years and is now formally a service area for the rebranded Stations Unidos community development corporation — a 58-unit affordable building at this location is a meaningful piece of the deed-restricted inventory near transit. The project complements rather than competes with the Stations Unidos anti-displacement mandate covering the same neighborhood.
What Everett Will Look Like When These Three Projects Are Done
Add the numbers:
- Mission expansion: 172 beds (shelter)
- Helping Hands Broadway 33: 28 apartments (affordable housing)
- ESDA Smith Avenue: 58 units (mixed-income, transit-oriented affordable)
Total addition: 172 shelter beds plus 86 deed-restricted housing units in two buildings, on three sites within walking distance of central Everett.
Three of the four named locations — 3530 Smith Avenue, 3102 Smith Avenue, and 2410-2412 Broadway — sit inside the central Everett corridor that touches both the Station District and the North Broadway corridor. That is geographic concentration of supportive and affordable housing capital, not scattering.
For the city, the stack-up is: existing emergency-shelter capacity, plus 172 new shelter beds, plus 86 new permanent affordable units, plus the existing affordable inventory (including the Stations Unidos service area and the 28-unit Helping Hands project), all coming online in roughly the same window.
Why The Other Three Projects Matter to Everett Residents Too
The remaining $13 million of the $23 million round funded three projects outside Everett city limits but inside Snohomish County. These projects will not be Everett addresses, but they affect the regional shelter and behavioral health network that Everett residents access.
The county’s regional system means a tight Everett shelter sends people to Lynnwood; a tight Lynnwood shelter sends people to Marysville; capacity expansion in any of those cities relieves pressure across the whole. The April 24 award was a regional capacity move, not three isolated Everett wins.
Timeline — When Residents See Concrete Change
Working backwards from openings:
- Mission first phase — open for the 2027 cold-weather season; construction start October–November 2026
- Broadway 33 — completion targeted February 2028
- ESDA Smith Avenue — completion timeline depends on full-stack financing close (the county grant is part, not all, of the project capital)
For Everett residents tracking the city’s homelessness and affordability response, that means visible change starts on Smith Avenue late in 2026, with measurable bed and unit additions through 2027 and into early 2028.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much did Snohomish County award in the April 24 2026 housing vote, and what funded it?
A: The Council unanimously approved approximately $23 million across six projects. The funding came from the county’s Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, fed by two voter-authorized sales taxes earmarked for affordable and supportive housing. The vote did not change a tax rate or raise a fee.
Q: How much did the Everett Gospel Mission receive, and what does it build?
A: $5.8 million toward a 172-bed expansion of the existing shelter at 3530 Smith Avenue — roughly tripling the building’s footprint. Total project cost is approximately $30 million; the grant stacks with earlier City of Everett, philanthropic, and state legislative funding.
Q: When will the Everett Gospel Mission expansion open?
A: Construction is targeted to start October or November 2026. The first phase is intended to be open in time for the 2027 cold-weather season.
Q: What is Broadway 33?
A: Broadway 33 is the working name for the Helping Hands Project’s 28-unit affordable apartment building at 2410 and 2412 Broadway in north Everett, funded in part by the $4.2 million county grant. Completion is targeted for February 2028. The building will serve disadvantaged residents and those with special needs.
Q: What is ESDA building at 3102 Smith Avenue?
A: A 58-unit, low-income mixed-use transit-oriented development. The unit mix begins with 15 units at 30 percent of area median income — the deepest affordability tier — with remaining units at higher AMI tiers through 60 percent.
Q: How many new shelter beds and affordable units will land in Everett from this round?
A: 172 new shelter beds (Mission expansion) plus 86 deed-restricted permanent affordable housing units (28 at Broadway 33, 58 at ESDA Smith Avenue), across three sites in central Everett.
Q: How does this round connect to Stations Unidos?
A: The ESDA project is in the Station District service area now formally covered by the rebranded Stations Unidos community development corporation. The 58-unit affordable building complements the Stations Unidos anti-displacement mandate and adds deed-restricted inventory near transit.
Q: Did the April 24 vote raise property or sales taxes in Snohomish County?
A: No. The vote moved already-collected revenue from two voter-authorized sales taxes (earmarked for affordable and supportive housing) into specific capital projects. There was no tax rate change or new fee created by the vote.
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