"Seattle's given me a lot," Avril said. "For me, it was all about just being able to pour back into the city that's given me so much."
At a Capitol Hill construction site, Gov. Bob Ferguson stood alongside leaders from one of the state's largest employers and a former Seahawks champion to break ground on a new affordable housing project.
Former Seahawks stars Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett also attended as their former teammate, Cliff Avril, helped break ground on The Pointe at Thomas, a planned 67-unit affordable housing development near Broadway late last week.
The gathering offered a snapshot of the relationship among government, business and professional sports in Seattle. The state helped cover early project expenses. Amazon supplied below-market financing. Avril and his development partner brought the property, the plan and community relationships. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2028.
"Seattle's given me a lot," Avril said. "For me, it was all about just being able to pour back into the city that's given me so much."
Avril, who remained in the region after his NFL career, said he had invested in real estate before but described affordable housing development as new territory. He and urban planner Alex Cohen founded C&A Development in 2020. The company purchased a nine-unit property at 228 11th Ave. E. and has been working on the project since 2021. It now plans to replace that building with 67 apartments reserved for households earning between 40% and 80% of the area median income — currently between $46,040 and $92,080 for a one-person household. The affordability restrictions will remain in place for 99 years.
Avril said the intended residents include teachers, nurses, firefighters and other workers who help keep Seattle operating but may struggle to live near their jobs.
The project relies on a financing structure that illustrates why affordable housing often requires several partners. Amazon says its Housing Fund committed $6.7 million in low-cost capital. Seattle Credit Union is providing $11.4 million in construction financing, while a Washington State Department of Commerce grant reimbursed eligible planning and design expenses before construction.
Amazon Vice President Brian Huseman said the company seeks projects that can deliver measurable impact and move relatively quickly.
“Amazon wants to be part of the fabric of the community,” Huseman said. “Affordability is an issue here in the Puget Sound region, and making sure that those who work here can afford to live here as well.”
Huseman said the company was also drawn to the site’s location two blocks from Capitol Hill light rail.
Amazon says its Housing Fund has committed more than $900 million to create or preserve more than 10,000 affordable homes in the Puget Sound region, serving more than 22,000 people. Nationally, the company has expanded the fund to a $3.6 billion commitment intended to create or preserve 35,000 homes in Puget Sound, the Washington, D.C., region and Nashville.
The investment also allowed Ferguson to address a broader political question: Can Washington ask more of its largest corporations while persuading them to continue investing here?
Business leaders have criticized recently approved taxes, costs and regulations. Former Democratic governors Christine Gregoire and Gary Locke have separately raised concerns about state spending, and Ferguson recently created an economic-development council that includes executives from Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing and other major employers. Ferguson pointed to The Pointe at Thomas as evidence that state government and Amazon can still work together.
“This underscores that partnership we have with entities like Amazon, which we deeply appreciate,” Ferguson said.
The governor cited several economic rankings in defending the state. Ferguson argues Washington recorded the nation’s fastest real GDP growth during the first quarter of 2026, at an annualized rate of 4.5%. Washington also climbed from 14th to 11th in CNBC’s latest ranking of top states for business, although it remains well below the No. 1 position it held in 2017.
That mixed record reflects the tension surrounding the event: Washington retains a highly educated workforce and powerful corporate base, but employers continue warning about taxes and the cost of operating here. Ferguson said his next budget proposal will be balanced and that he will not propose another tax increase.
For Avril, however, the project is less about state rankings than about maintaining connections between workers and the communities they serve.
That is where the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic enters the story.
C&A Development plans to give clinic employees, patients, and patients’ family members advance notice when apartments become available. The company is also talking with transit agencies about potentially offering reduced-price passes to residents. The apartments are not described as being reserved for Odessa Brown families, but the notification arrangement could give people tied to the clinic an earlier opportunity to apply. The clinic has served children and families in Seattle since 1970 and now provides primary, specialty, behavioral and community-based care through locations in the Central District and Othello, along with school-based sites.
Avril has previously used his public profile to raise money and awareness for the clinic. Now, the connection is being built into his first affordable-housing project.
“This is definitely the start of more to come,” Avril said. “I want to create more.”
For Amazon, it is a demonstration of corporate investment. For Ferguson, it is evidence that government and major employers remain capable of collaboration. For Avril, it is a chance to make a different kind of impact in the city where he made his name.
And for the people who may eventually live at The Pointe at Thomas, the success of that complicated partnership will ultimately be measured one apartment at a time.
