The first Habitat for Humanity project in Freeland since before the COVID-19 pandemic is making steady progress.
Earlier this year, volunteers who participated in Habitat for Humanity of Island County’s Women Build days helped frame the beginnings of a new permanently affordable home near Holmes Harbor.
The single-family home is the 58th to be built by the nonprofit organization that makes homeownership a reality for people with affordable mortgages, according to Chief Development Officer Liz Chaffin.
The public is invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 4966 Spearview Place, according to a press release. Chaffin said it will be an introduction to the neighborhood for the homeowner and her family.
“It’s something definitely worth celebrating,” she said.
The project has received $15,000 in Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program funds through Community Frameworks. An additional $100,000 from a Housing Trust Fund grant may also be in the works, although the organization won’t find out if the funds will be granted until later this month, Chaffin said.
The project has been several years in the making and has been complicated by steep slopes and the site’s proximity to wetlands. According to Chief Program Officer Scott Givens, construction is expected to be complete on the four-bedroom, 1,649-square-foot home in 2025.
For each house built, Givens said, about 150 to 250 volunteers are needed. They learn a variety of different skills, including framing, siding, flooring, cutting tile, installing cabinets and building porches. Prospective volunteers can visit islandcountyhabitat.org/volunteer to sign up.
Over the years, there have been just eight homes built in Freeland and 11 in the greater South Whidbey area by Habitat for Humanity of Island County.
“It’s been the first one on the South End in quite a while,” Chaffin said of the most recent project near Holmes Harbor.
A project in Langley consisting of seven townhomes has encountered some environmental challenges and has not yet broken ground.
To be eligible for homeownership, applicants must have lived or worked on Island County for at least a year, earn between 30% to 80% of the area median income, show a need for safe housing, volunteer 250 hours of their time and have the ability to pay a mortgage that does not exceed 30% of the homeowner’s gross monthly income.
(Photo provided) During Habitat for Humanity of Island County’s Women Build event, volunteers had the opportunity to pick up power tools, empowering them to learn some new skills while working on a home.
