Opportunity Place for the YWCA

Stickney Murphy Romine is in the middle of its largest recent project — the construction documents for the $30 million Opportunity Place, a low-income housing and “self-sufficiency center” being developed on the fringe of Belltown by the YWCA.

The building will share underground parking with a 20-story office/condo project by Tarragon Development. Street-level space will be retail.

Michael Romine, a principal with the firm, says that with a specialty in affordable housing, typically financed by a variety of sources, there is some doubt about what the future may hold.

“We have a number of projects that have been in the pipeline quite a while that are continuing to move forward. It’s unknown at this time whether they’ll go forward depending on funding sources. Also there’s an unknown amount of public dollars that might continue, or might not. We just don’t know.”

Other Stickney Murphy Romine affordable housing projects include the Villa Apartments for the Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program and the David Colwell Building for the Plymouth Housing Group.

In the firm’s other specialty, adaptive reuse of historic structures, projects include the restorations of the Terry/Denny Building and the Lenora Lofts for Samis Land Co.

Romine, who joined the firm in 1985, says that the 13-member firm is not cutting back.

“We’re holding firm and hope to in the future,” he said.