The Lora Lake Apartments in Burien, long threatened by the wrecking ball, will open again as an affordable-housing complex.

Burien City Council members approved by a 4-2 vote on Nov. 5 a memorandum of understanding to preserve the 162 vacant units at Lora Lake.

Mayor Joan McGilton and council members Sue Blazak, Jack Block Jr. and Lucy Krakowiak voted yes.

Deputy Mayor Rose Clark and Councilman Gordon Shaw opposed the compromise settlement. Councilwoman Sally Nelson was absent.

The agreement calls for the King County Housing Authority to purchase the Lora Lake Apartments from the Port of Seattle, which currently owns the property. King County will purchase vacant property adjacent to the housing complex.

Burien will receive $1 million-half from the county, half from the housing authority-earmarked for the city's planned Transit Oriented Development project at Southwest 148th Street and Fourth Avenue Southwest.

Principal players in brokering this compromise settlement were state Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, whose 33rd Legislative District includes part of Burien, and House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.

Upthegrove and Chopp also said they will seek state funding for Burien-estimated at $1 million-to help make apartments in the Transit Oriented Development affordable for local teachers and relocate the Highline Mental Health Center, as well as help the city begin commercial development of its Northeast Redevelopment Area.

The Lora Lake Apartments occupy the southern triangle of the Northeast Redevelopment Area at Des Moines Memorial Drive and South Eighth Street just south of State Route 518. This site long had been considered to be the key to commercial development in the entire northeast area.

But, Upthegrove told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday, "Rightly or wrongly, [Lora Lake] became a symbol of the area's affordable-housing crisis and that brought up a lot of emotion."

"There are a lot of hard feelings around this and will be for many years," Burien City Manager Mike Martin also told the P-I.

"We're not happy about leaving the apartments there, however, there comes a time ... when you have to do what you can in the best interest of the community."

The Burien City Council approved the agreement on the condition that the city won't be held responsible if Lora Lake residents sue over future noise or pollution.

Lora Lake is located less than 1,000 feet from the center line of the new third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, had anticipated using the property for air transportation-support activities.

The apartment complex, which was built in 1989, was purchased by the port while planning for the third runway was underway. The port later transferred the apartments under a temporary agreement to the King County Housing Authority for management as low-income housing.

When Burien incorporated in 1993, the Lora Lake property was located just inside the new city limits.

In 1999 the King County, the port, the city and the King County Housing Authority signed a contractual agreement that stated the apartments would be vacated and demolished in 2005.

Burien subsequently established its Northeast Redevelopment Area in the area north of the airport for the long-term development of commercial activity to expand the city's tax base and provide local jobs.

The three-party agreement was extended for two years in 2005 because the third runway was still under construction. The housing complex was rescheduled to close this past June.

In March, representatives of the city, the port and the housing authority began planning the orderly closure and demolition of Lora Lake, and the relocation of all remaining residents.

The housing authority and King County Executive Ron Sims soon reneged on the agreement, however, and began an intensive lobbying effort to keep the apartments standing for use as affordable housing.

Burien council members voted in May to proceed with demolition, as did the Port of Seattle Commission in August.

The housing authority then filed suit to block demolition on the grounds that it has a legal claim to the property. A hearing had been scheduled for March.