"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
First Step Technology Center (FSTC) is located 
at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Apartments in Seattle's Rainier Valley.
The complex is owned by the Empire-Kenyon Association and managed by Quantum Management Services. The property has a total of 117 units and 218 residents; 95 percent of the units are designated as Section 8. Of all residents, 54.6% are African refugees, 27% are Black/African-American, and 18.3% are Asian/Pacific Islander. Single females head more than 53% of households.
FSTC is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Neighborhood Networks Center and recently received a grant of technical assistance to improve the capacity to operate effectively and offer critical programs and services to residents in HUD-insured and -assisted housing.
We seek to meet the unique needs of the resident population and increase resident involvement. Our priority is to develop partnerships for FSTC that bring new resources and opportunities to residents and the larger community. FSTC provides technology access and services in exchange for partner use of the Center to provide services to residents and the surrounding community.
FSTC has approximately 1,500 square feet of space and can accommodate about 25 individuals at one time.
We have 12 new Dell and HP workstations, each with broadband Internet connectivity. Currently, we are upgrading our network and purchasing printer and projector equipment.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Apartments once averaged three 911 calls a day. In 1992, the City of Seattle was on the verge of demolishing the complex. New property management collaborated with community partners to renovate the buildings and landscape and in 1996 a computer center was implemented. Since then, hundreds of low income residents of all ages have participated in free computer access-related activities.
Contact us for more information.