Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards $250,000 to the Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a capital project grant to the Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center (HSDC) in the amount of $250,000.  This grant goes to the Center's Building Community through Communication capital campaign.

 

The Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center, realizing a 40-year dream, will finally get a new facility to house its services and programs.  In a unique business plan, the Center leveraged its Seattle property in a development project that will provide HSDC with a 30,000 square foot Center and build 96 units of affordable housing for the community.  It is a win-win for all parties as the city gets much needed housing, and the Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center retains ownership of the property and secures the shell of a new facility at no cost.

 

Funding for the $23 million dollar mixed-use project is coming from a variety of public and private sector sources, including a previous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Sound Families Initiative Program that supports the 10 units of transitional housing.  The Center is currently running the capital campaign for $2.5 million to finish the interior of its space with furnishings, sound booths and other special equipment.

 

The new, expanded Center will allow HSDC to double its services and programs meeting the continually growing need in the Pacific Northwest.