Island County commissioners unanimously approved the allocation of $3.9 million in COVID stimulus money to the Opportunity Council for the construction of an 82-unit apartment community on North Whidbey.
The funds come from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. The purpose of the act is to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, particularly on low-income people and people of color.
The apartments are meant for households making 30% to 80% or less of the area median income.
The Camas Flats — named after the local native plant Camas — will be located at 820 N. Oak Harbor Road on land donated by the county under the condition that the community will remain affordable in perpetuity. The Opportunity Council is developing the community in partnership with Shelter Resources, an affordable housing developer that has worked on over 6,000 affordable housing projects.
The project will include one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom options, management and service provider offices, a community laundry facility, storage, spaces where people can gather and a large outside playground. Eight of the units in the two-story building will be for people coming out of homelessness, two for veterans.
Melissa Frasch-Brown, the director of the Opportunity Council in Island County, said she was excited to hear the commissioners’ decision. She said Island County has been in great need of affordable housing, particularly after the pandemic, with senior citizens spending most of their fixed income on rising rent costs and many families at risk of homelessness.
Frasch-Brown said there is no start date set in stone yet, but the site will undergo environmental studies and must wait for permits to be approved.
According to Shelter Resources’ Vice President of Development Jeremy Wilkening, the project is expected to cost $30 million in total, with funding coming from 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits Tax Exempt bonds, Perm Loan, capital funds from Island County and Apple Health and Homes and Housing Trust Funds from the Washington State Department of Commerce.
