Habitat Dedicates House #25

Sunday, April 15th, was a very special day for everyone connected with Skagit Habitat for Humanity. 

On that beautiful, sunny day, approximately 80 people gathered to dedicate the 25th home completed since the affiliate began in 1994.  Wendie Granberg's house on Polte Road in Sedro-Woolley completes the development now known as Habitat Village, adjacent to Central United Methodist Church. 

Commissioners Sharon Dillon and Ron Wesen attended and spoke about the value of providing affordable housing in Skagit County.  There were other presentations made by the quilters of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and by spokespeople from Grocery Outlet, but no presentation was more important than the keys to the house. 

Construction Committee chair Chuck Hoover and Construction Manager Tom Peebles had the honor of making the real transfer of the building from SHFH to Wendie Granberg as she became a homeowner. 

By Sunday evening, Wendie had begun moving into her new home.

 

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Help Skagit Habitat by eating at Applebee's!

Skagit Habitat has partnered with Applebee’s in an effort to eliminate poverty housing.  All you have to do is download and print out your ticket here, and Applebee’s will donate 15% of your meals proceeds to Skagit Habitat for Humanity!  Make sure to download one ticket for EACH person attending.

This article appeared recently in the Courier-Times

It All Starts with a Patch of Dirt

No, we are not talking about planting tulips.  We're talking about Skagit Habitat for Humanity building houses in the county.  Each project begins with the acquisition of a piece of property to build on.  We say "acquisition," because there are many ways to get property.

The obvious way is to buy land.  Even with the down economy, land is still relatively, or absolutely, expensive for most people to buy.  When Skagit HFH is preparing to build another house, we look for a good price in an area where our house will fit into the existing neighborhood.  We also have to consider building where our volunteers will be willing to drive over the course of the 9 to 12 months it takes to build a house. 

Since SHFH began in 1994, most of the property we've built on has been purchased.  During that time, we've built in LaConner, Mount Vernon, Concrete, Sedro-Woolley, and the Conway area.  We've also done rehabilitation builds in those cities and Burlington as well.  We have not yet built in Anacortes due to the cost of a buildable lot, but it is a goal of SHFH to one day find the "right deal" that allows us to build there.

Habitat has also found other ways to acquire property, and we've tried to be innovative in how we do that.  We've had property donated for the tax deduction.  The largest donation was in Mount Vernon, and the subsequent development of eight homes is called Habitat Place.  Additionally, SHFH has purchased land from a church to develop a four-home site called Habitat Village in Sedro-Woolley.  (The fourth and final home was dedicated on April 15th this year.)  Also in Sedro-Woolley, Habitat found an existing house on a large lot that we subsequently split.  The existing house was sold, and we build another house on the new lot.  In Mount Vernon, we found a lot that had been ravaged by a house fire, and bought the land to develop and return it to a neighborhood state.

When SHFH buys or receives donated land and it is "raw" or undeveloped, a lot of expensive work has to be done to make it "build ready."  Putting in utilities can be costly.  In more than one case, the cost of the utilities was as expensive as the land itself.  Additionally, when Habitat needs to ready the land by putting in utilities, the time delay to make it ready can really slow down the process.  In the end, the best land is land that has utilities already in.  That means that someone had to pay to make it ready, and that raises the price.

Most recently, Skagit HFH has formed a partnership with Home Trust of Skagit, the county's community land trust, to cooperatively build five homes in Channel Cove in LaConner.  The land will be held in trust by HTS, and Habitat will build the home.  The eventual homeowner will own the building and have a 99-year ground lease on the land, but the land will remain in trust forever.  This reduces the land cost to SHFH, and to the homeowner in their mortgage, which means Habitat can put more of its resources into homes.

In some communities, Habitat affiliates are able to work with municipalities to receive land free or next-to-free in exchange for building affordable housing.  Nearly all communities have a need for decent, safe, affordable housing, so the community is served by this arrangement.  To date, this has not been an option in Skagit County.

 

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Pictured from L to R (HTS in italics)
Teresa Pugh, Carole Straathof, Dave Groves, Cathie Wyman, Jim Duffield, Carol Hagen, Gabriel Olmsted, Debbie Allen,
Elinor Nakis, Dave Malsed, Kent Haberly, Lynn Christofersen, Carla Tucker, Chuck Hoover, Ruth Turner, and Mary Ann Edwards

A New Start at Channel Cove

Success has been defined as when preparation meets opportunity.  That was certainly demonstrated on the 11th of March at Channel Cove.  The former Southfield affordable housing development has been stalled for years in need of leadership and a dependable developer.  That's where the Home Trust of Skagit and Skagit Habitat for Humanity come in.

The development on South Park Street in LaConner was intended to be a mixed-income affordable housing area, but ground to a halt about ten years ago when the developer ran out of money.  The State of Washington wound up taking back the property.  About five years ago, Skagit Habitat for Humanity and Skagit County Community Action Agency discussed how to partner to complete the plan.  That came to fruition when the Home Trust of Skagit came into being last year, and subsequently partnered with Skagit HFH.

Habitat is in charge of selecting the applicant families, and HTS will own the land and administer the 99-year ground lease.  The goal is to keep the housing in Channel Cove affordable forever, even as new owners buy properties from the original owners.  The dwellings are owned by the family, and the land stays in trust.

On the 11th of March, about 70 people gathered in LaConner to celebrate the ground breaking for the first collaborative project of HTS and SHFH.  The families are Roman and Jennifer Rodriguez, and their children David, Liliana, and Amelia, and Salvio and Victoria Hernandez, and their children Flor and Hector.  In attendance were County Commissioners Ron Wesen and Sharon Dillon, LaConner Mayor Ramon Hayes, and many Habitat volunteers who will be working on the project.  (Habitat last built in LaConner in 2007.)  The duplexes have a target completion date--weather permitting--of Christmas 2012.  SHFH and HTS will build at least three additional dwellings over the next two years.

Flor Hernandez, 15, speaks for her family at the groundbreaking ceremony,
expressing their gratitude for this opportunity

 

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Skagit Habitat for Humanity has a need:

We are seeking a small automatic pickup truck (V6 or 4-cylinder) to be used for transporting construction materials.

Please stop by The Store, located at 1022 Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon, or call 360-428-9402 if you would like to donate one.

Remember, your donation is fully tax deductible!

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We will soon be building in LaConner! Go to VolunteerUp for specifics and to sign up to work.

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The Skagit Habitat for Humanity Store is open for business from 10 AM to 6 PM Monday through Saturday, and donations are only accepted during business hours before 5:30 PM.  The Store address is 1022 Riverside Drive in Mount Vernon.  Click on the link below to find the location of the store.

Map to location of the new Skagit Habitat for Humanity Store