SEATTLE - The University of Washington is considering building housing for faculty and staff to help them make themselves at home in the city's expensive housing market.

The university bought two parking lots last fall and has formed a nonprofit real estate foundation to look into building about 250 condo units in the University District neighborhood west of campus. Private developer Jim Rose estimates it would cost about $50 million to build 250 condos on the two lots.

The university also is considering redeveloping a former Navy barracks it owns near Magnuson Park, which may be configured to yield 150 more housing units.

The median price of a home last year in the University District was $510,000; a condo $317,000, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

The average salary for a University of Washington assistant professor is $67,000, an associate professor $73,000 and a full professor $102,000.

At least one other Seattle university - Seattle Pacific University - is looking into faculty housing. Colleges in other expensive housing markets already offer this amenity. Stanford University owns about 900 units of campus housing, including homes, condos, townhouses and a few rentals.

In Seattle, Stephanie Andrews, 34, an assistant professor of digital arts who started working at the UW in 2004, said it took two years for her to find an affordable home in North Seattle and thinks the university's plans could be helpful in attracting and helping new faculty.

"I think it would be helpful for enough people and could be the deciding factor for some," said Andrews, who bought a town house in Shoreline last summer. "Especially those with a family and children who might need something stable right away."

To keep condos affordable and in the hands of employees, the university has discussed several proposals, including retaining partial ownership of the units. Some universities also limit the profit a seller can make when they resell faculty condos.

Meanwhile, at Seattle Pacific, in the expensive Queen Anne neighborhood, officials are looking into the possibility of building faculty and staff townhouses, vice president of business and planning. The project is expected to start small, with as few as five units to start.