Congresswoman Schrier makes trip to Cle Elum to visit HopeSource project

U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier visited Cle Elum on Wednesday to talk with officials from HopeSource and Kittitas County’s emergency operations.

She made her first stop to meet with HopeSource at its construction site for Teanaway Court, an affordable housing development that will consist of 41 units and a 66-seat daycare.

“As the community knows better than anybody, housing has gotten unaffordable,” said Schrier, a Democrat who serves in Washington’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“This is the story across the state, and it’s the story across the country,” she said.

Schrier spoke with HopeSource about updates to the building that have required years of planning. The multi-family development received $2 million in federal funding that was secured by Schrier in 2023.

The project also picked up funding from public and private sources that included Kittitas County, the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, Citigroup, Enterprise Community Partners and more.

Residents who will live in the housing development must have incomes below the average median income in the county.

Out of the units, 18 will have one bedroom, one bathroom; 14 units will have two bedrooms, one bathroom; and nine will have three bedrooms with two bathrooms.

“A lot of people in Seattle have second homes here — that pushes up wages and pushes up housing prices,” Schrier said. “This is a way to make sure that people that are here — working in Cle Elum and surrounding areas — can afford to live where they work.”

“I am very excited to have helped fund this housing,” Schrier said.

After the visit to Teanaway Court, Schrier visited the location for the Kittitas County Emergency Operations Center on Airport Road to talk about federal funding she secured for the facility.