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It’s perhaps the most concrete estimate of what it would take to fix homelessness in the region. It’s also dramatically higher than any dollar amount under serious discussion either in Seattle City Hall or in King County Council chambers.

The new homelessness report has only just begun to penetrate City Hall. In an interview Wednesday, Councilmember Lorena González said she had not yet seen it but was scheduled to receive a briefing on the findings Friday. She said she had heard about the $400 million estimate. 

In addition to the dollar estimate, the report found strong correlation between rising rents and the rising homeless population, according to a short synopsis of its conclusions published Wednesday evening by the consulting firm, McKinsey and Company. Of the approximately $400 million necessary, the firm concluded 85 percent should go toward new housing. 

"Action would be needed on three fronts: preventing more people from becoming homeless in the first place, assisting the homeless to find accommodation, and most important, providing more affordable housing," according to McKinsey's brief summary. 

Crosscut has not seen the report in its entirety. The Seattle Times reported Wednesday the final draft called for at least 14,000 new units of affordable housing. 

The findings were unveiled earlier this year to a steering committee comprised of Chamber representatives as well as representatives of King County, Seattle and philanthropic organizations, like the Gates Foundation and United Way, according to Chamber spokesperson Alicia Teel.

The funding estimate arrives just as Seattle is bitterly divided over whether to pass a $75 million per year tax on large businesses to pay for more affordable housing and homeless services. Proponents of the business tax have cast the proposal as a step in the right direction while opponents view it as detrimental to the city’s growth.  

The Seattle City Council is scheduled to vote on the contentious business tax on Monday.

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