Pioneer Human Services, a Seattle-based nonprofit that operates five housing facilities in Spokane, is seeking the sale of state revenue bonds to refinance a building it owns, at 224 S. Howard downtown, that provides low-income housing for disabled adults and others.

The Washington state Housing Finance Commission says it is considering issuing tax-exempt revenue bonds that will allow for the refinance, which would give Pioneer a lower interest rate and property-tax benefits. The commission plans to hold a public hearing on the matter on Nov. 19 at its Seattle office.

Sale of the bonds would allow Pioneer to refinance debt from its 2008 purchase of the downtown facility, which is called Pioneer Pathway House. The four-story, 21,000-square-foot structure has 39 units which are rented by low-income individuals who have disabilities, chemical dependency problems, mental health problems, or criminal histories, says LorieAnn Larson, a senior management associate for Pioneer. There is some retail space in the building, but it's empty, Larson says.

Jason Hennigan, a senior finance associate for the Housing Finance Commission, says the bonds would be issued to refinance about $800,000 that Pioneer still owes on the original purchase.

Hennigan says that in addition to having a lower interest rate, the new bonds would be of a different type than the earlier ones, and thus would make the building on Howard eligible for a property-tax abatement, so Pioneer no longer would need to pay property tax on the structure. The type of loan originally used to purchase the building made the structure ineligible for such a property-tax abatement, he says.

The refinancing would help Pioneer keep rents low for tenants and make upgrades to the facility, Larson says.

Pioneer also owns and operates the 35-unit Pioneer Victory House, at 925 W. Broadway, which provides transitional housing for veterans; the 48-bed Pioneer Center East, at 3400 W. Garland, which provides housing for chemically dependent individuals; and the 55-bed Eleanor Chase House work release, at 427 W. Seventh, for women leaving prison. It operates but doesn't own the 80-bed Brownstone work release, at 223 S. Browne, for adult males. The state owns Brownstone, Larson says.