The flood of new condominiums will bring in people with higher incomes but will also mean many low income people will be squeezed out of the community.

Senior Randi Hansen and 66 other tenants have less than three months left, they will be forced to move out of the Klondike Apartments and three other Ballard buildings because the buildings are in the process of being sold for conversion to condominiums.

"The last word I have is they have to move by March," said Leo Valdok, a local broker who has been handling rental payments on the apartments.

The Klondike and the three other apartment buildings nearby were owned by Arne Haborstad. When he passed away, he left the buildings with relatives living in Norway.

"It's not easy operating it (the buildings) from Norway," said Valdok.

Valdok said the deal with the new owner is expected to close on Jan. 29. He said he does not know who the buyer is and would not disclose the sale price.

The Klondike Apartments are located at the northeast corner of 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 62nd Street. The other buildings are located on Northwest 59th Street.

"We have the lowest rent in Ballard. They have had a good deal. Everyone is higher," said Valdok.

Randi Hansen who is concerned about paying more rent somewhere else and being able to remain in Ballard.

She has lived in the Klondike since 1992. Hansen said there are 10 units in her building, most occupied by seniors. Other tenants Hansen contacted to be interviewed did not want to comment on their situation.

"How can you evict all these people at once, that is my question?" said Hansen, 65, who pays $600 a month for a one-bedroom she shares with her cat, Joy.

Washington State law requires that tenants must receive notice of the conversion from apartments to condos and must be offered the chance to buy their unit at least 90 days before they are required to move. The city's Condominium Conversion Ordinance requires condo developers to provide financial help to eligible renters who are forced to move when their apartments are converted to condos.

After providing the 90-day notice, developers have to pay $500 in Relocation Assistance to eligible tenants who move out and do not buy their unit. Tenants whose household earns less than 80 percent of the median income of Seattle for a household of a given size are eligible. The city has an eligibility chart with number of people living in a home along with income requirements.

According to the local office of the Building Owners and Management Association, there is no organization representing condo developers to comment on the trend.

Alan Justad, public relations advisor for the city said there were 430 condo conversions in 2004, but by 2005 that number had grown to 1,551 and in 2006 it was 1,916.

"The condo conversion rate has picked up these past two years," he said.

"It's unbelievable, there's a big upsurge," said Sharon Lee, executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute, a non-profit group helping to provide affordable housing for families and individuals.

Lee said investors are purchasing units at a low price and selling them for two to three times the price they paid. This trend is happening in Seattle and the suburbs.

"It's a major crisis, taking affordable rental housing from working people out of the inventory," said Lee. "It's constraining people's options."

Lee maintains that apartments being turned into condos are affecting a lot of people who can't afford to move anywhere else.

A new city program could help preserve land for low-income housing.

Councilman Tom Rasmussen introduced legislation to establish the Affordable Housing Land Acquisition Program that was adopted last December.

Ann Corbitt, legislative aide for Rasmussen, said the city's Office of Housing is working to provide $25 million for the program. The council Housing Oversight Committee is expected to recommend minor changes to the plans that the council could approve by March. Corbitt said non-profit groups would apply for money to buy land before it gets too costly. Funds will not be used to purchase buildings.

People with money are coming to Ballard to buy condo units. Now Hansen fears people that don't have money will no longer have a place to live.

"I want to stay in Ballard. My whole life has been Ballard. People can't afford to rent an apartment for $800. Not only that, this has been their life," said Hansen.

Hansen, who has lived in Ballard 55 years, retired from the city in 1980 after being assaulted downtown.

"I could not work," said Hansen, because of seizures brought on by the assault.

Through her community activities, Hansen is well known in the area.

Hansen started the annual Yulefest holiday event at the Nordic Heritage Museum. She helped launch the Northend Emergency Fund, now called the Ballard Food Bank.

Two years ago, Hansen volunteered as a one-woman work party removing posters and flyers from poles at Bergen Place and has been an advocate for the homeless.

Hansen once held a sit-in to protect a tree from being uprooted during construction of an apartment building next to the Klondike.

"I wanted kids to grow up and have trees around them. Trees have a purpose in the environment. It was close to 100 years old," said Hansen.

Community activism was ingrained in Hansen at an early age.

"My grandfather was involved in community events to make it better. I caught it from him. I saw unfairness and decided to be involved," said Hansen.

"Ballard is becoming a place where only the rich can live and have no use for people with little or no income. Citizens have a right to have a place to live. What are you going to do? Where will people go?"

Dean Wong can be contacted at 783.1244 or at dino@robinsonnews.com