The Washington State Department of Commerce has awarded an additional $1.99 million to Vashon HouseHold (VHH) as part of an overall $26.6 million dollar program funding low-income housing projects across the state.
The funding, announced by Commerce on Sept. 21, is pivotal for VHH’s long-delayed Island Center Homes project, still waiting to break ground at Vashon Highway and 188 St. SW.
When VHH first proposed building the affordable housing units in 2018, it secured commitments from the Washington State Department of Commerce and the King County Department of Community and Human Services totaling just over $8 million.
Since that time, the cost of goods has risen by an estimated $5 million, according to VHH’s executive director, Jason Johnson.
With this grant, the Department of Commerce has increased its total award for the Island Center Homes project to $5.4 million. VHH has already requested an additional $3 million from King County, which would bring the county’s overall investment in the project to $6.8 million.
Johnson says the organization “…feels we are in a good position to compete for that award.”
He also noted that the Vashon community provided $52,000 in funds that were matched by Washington State.
“Early community support was critical to this project’s success and our ability to apply for public funds,” he said.
VHH is still waiting for permit clearance, which Johnson said he believed would happen soon. The organization expects to host a ground-breaking ceremony late this year and begin construction in early 2023, he said.
The build time for the project will be approximately 17 months, putting move-in dates for residents in mid-2024.
When completed, Island Center Homes will add 40 income-qualified rental units to the affordable housing inventory on Vashon. The 330-380 square-foot micro suites will provide housing for seniors, veterans, and those with incomes ranging 30% to 80% below the area median income, which is approximately $78,000 for Vashon Island, according to 2020 Census data.
Island Center Homes will be laid out in a cluster on 1.2 acres of the property, which has eight water shares.
Five buildings will each contain eight single occupancy suites complete with individual baths. Residents will share kitchen, laundry, and common living areas.
To facilitate a thriving, healthy community at the site, VHH will create shared space agreements among residents and provide interior and exterior custodial and maintenance staff, as it currently does with existing properties.
Throughout the planning, Johnson and VHH board members have looked to Seattle-area projects for best practices in the design and execution of the site and support programs.
“Our goal, as always, is to provide quality, safe, affordable homes for the people we serve,” Johnson said.
Providing wrap-around social services will also be a priority, and the organization plans to assign a social worker to help meet the existing and emerging needs of residents.
The application process for the units is still under development by the VHH board and staff.
The organization plans to conduct extensive outreach in 2024, said Johnson, including community outreach and meetings, announcements in the newspaper, engagement with funders, interviews and surveys, as VHH has done in past projects.
This outreach process will be “a critically important part of designing the intake process,” he said.
Johnson also said he plans to bring an intersectional lens to the process, hoping to create a community that represents the growing social, racial, and economic diversity of Vashon residents.
The project is focused on environmental sustainability, with a design incorporating a rain catchment system, a community garden, secure bike storage, and solar panels for the buildings.
Inflation, home prices impact housing market
The anticipated completion of Island Center Homes comes as Vashon’s low- and fixed-income populations, as well as its essential workforce, are impacted by regional and national economic trends. Inflation increased by a 40-year high of 9.1% this past year, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and is driving household budget shortfalls.
Additionally, the price of purchasing a home on the island has skyrocketed year over year. Median home prices increased 17% in the past two years, from $696,000 in 2020 to over $835,000 as of September 2022, according to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) reports. Pandemic-related trends were a major driver of the recent escalation.
Residents who can’t afford to buy, though, are not easily able to find a place to rent.
According to 2020 US Census data, the rental availability rate (the number of overall units versus the number of available units) on Vashon rests effectively at zero percent, while the King County rental inventory overall hovers around 6%.
Founded as a nonprofit by community activists in 1990, VHH has long worked to address rental availability. It already operates 125 units spread across four properties on the island: J.G. Commons, Eernisse Apartments, Charter House and Mukai Apartments.
The units are a mix of income-qualified individuals, seniors, veterans, and renters seeking affordability and stability in the volatile Vashon rental market. Demand for the units remains high, with a waiting list of more than 50 deep in January, according to VHH’s former director, Chris Szala. The organization has had to temporarily close waiting lists.
While VHH’s rental programs primarily address the needs of those most at risk for homelessness, the organization also works to address home ownership and housing availability targeted at primary workforce residents.
The organization oversees 76 homeowner units at three sites — Vashon CoHousing, Roseballen, and Sunflower. Operating within a Community Land Trust framework, VHH owns the land at each site, while individuals and families own the homes.
This model provides a framework to ensure the homes remain affordable in perpetuity while supporting the owner’s ability to reliably build equity. Home valuations are fixed to the CPI, but appreciation is capped at 3.5% a year and the home value cannot be assigned depreciation based on the CPI. This provides an exceptional amount of stability for the homeowners, all of whom are income-qualified and many are first-time buyers.
Housing crunch ripples out on Vashon
The housing crunch on Vashon’s seniors and workforce ripples throughout the economy. Some of the island’s largest employers, including Vashon Island School District and Sawbones, have spoken to VHH about the lack of housing and resulting staffing issues. In a video on the organization’s website, spokespersons for both organizations speak extensively about the problem.
Recent staffing woes at the Vashon’s post office are well documented. In a recent communication with The Beachcomber, Postal Service representative Lecia Hall wrote, “One of the recruiting challenges we’ve had in staffing the Vashon office is the cost of daily ferry service. Working on the island is appealing, but the costly commute is a personal factor in the decision.”
Johnson said catalyzing action around the workforce housing problem is a top priority for the organization.
This fall, it released a survey to Vashon’s largest employers and their employees, hoping to gather the data the organization needs to drive crucial conversations within and beyond the community.
While VHH sees itself as a facilitator and resource, Johnson is clear that the investment of time — and money — to address the problem will rest with the government, commercial developers, or employers.
Even with the 40 additional units provided by the Island Center Homes project, VHH recognizes that housing needs on the island are still woefully under-met. This fall and into 2023, the organization will add another program — a home-sharing initiative.
Inspired by national models — particularly a program run by Associated Ministries in Tacoma— the program aims to pair up 30 individuals to share homes by the end of 2023.
Applications for the program will be available from VHH later this year.
While the matching process for participants will be vigorous and the living agreements detailed, Johnson and the VHH’s board recognize the need for ongoing facilitation, he said. To that end, a program coordinator will be hired by VHH to support participants and help mediate if and when conflict arises.
Both the home-sharing program and the higher-density living opportunity presented by Island Center Homes are new housing strategies for Vashon, which has a long tradition of low-density living.
According to Census data, Vashon has a population of 299 residents per square mile — in contrast to King County overall, which has a density of 1,073 people per square mile.
Johnson sees higher-density planning, including projects like Island Center Homes, as the way to drive housing affordability on Vashon, centered in the town core.
It’s a vision he said represents the harsh choice the community now faces — to find a way to accommodate wage workers and support a robust middle class, or become an ever-more exclusive enclave of second and third homes for the wealthy.
Corrections and clarification: The Beachcomber erred in stating the size of the property on which Island Center Homes will be developed. The property will be developed on 1.2 acres, not 5 acres, as was originally stated in both the Oct. 13 print edition of The Beachcomber and an earlier online version. The same article also stated that the Island Center Homes would have a “built-in capacity for solar panels,” when, in fact, the build of the project will immediately incorporate solar panels.
We strive for accuracy and regret any errors or lack of clarity.
