More than a decade after Vashon HouseHold purchased land on Bank Road to build affordable housing, the nonprofit agency is moving ahead and hopes islanders interested in purchasing a home there will contact them soon.

The plan for the Sunflower development has changed since it was first introduced in 2002 and now includes 14 small homes — just 700 square feet — about half the size of homes originally planned for the site. It is a model that Vashon HouseHold Executive Director Chris Szala said he believes fits with the widespread interest in small houses and will likely appeal most to individuals, young families and those who are downsizing. Because the homes are smaller than typical, housing officials from the county and state, which combined have provided more than $1.5 million for the project, want to see a full roster of home buyers, plus alternates, before the project can move ahead.

“We are really committed to getting this done if at all possible,” Szala said. “We will see if the market supports this. That is what everybody is waiting for, ourselves and our funders.”

As at Vashon HouseHold’s Roseballen community near town, the development will be based on a community land trust model: Vashon HouseHold will own the land, and the homeowners will own the houses. This arrangement keeps prices affordable to more people, and Szala said he expects these homes to sell for about $170,000, much less than the current $462,500 median price of a home on Vashon. At that low price, Szala added he believes mortgages will be $950 per month or less, lower than many rents on Vashon.

The long-delayed project is now on a fast track, and Szala said those who are interested in the project should contact him as soon as possible to be considered. Looking ahead, he noted that he would like the waiting list for homes to be complete by the end of February in order for building to begin June 1, with completion scheduled for the end of 2017.

To qualify for a home in the development, potential buyers must make no more than 80 percent of the area’s median income, Szala added. For a single person, the limit is $46,100; for two people it is $52,650, and for four the limit is $65,800.

The architect for the project is Judy Tucker of Seattle’s Form and Function. She and Szala have worked on projects together previously, and she said she agreed readily when Szala asked if she would assist with Sunflower.

“I love the idea of helping out with low income housing,” she said. ” I think there should be quality housing for everyone at every cost level.”

The homes have an open floor plan, galley kitchens, full-sized appliances, a bedroom and a loft, Szala noted. Tucker originally designed the homes for another project and revised them for this one.

“It is small but well designed and compact, but very liveable,” she said.

She added that each home includes a large covered porch and good amount of storage relative to its size. Additionally, care will be taken when placing the homes on the lots with an eye toward privacy, she said, “so you do not stand in your dining room window and look into the dining room window next door.”

There will also be room for personal identity.

“Someone can walk down the street and come to your house and know that it belongs to you,” she added.

The lots themselves range from 3,000 to 3,700 square feet, she noted, and while a larger home might have just a 5-foot setback from the property line, these homes will be no closer than 10 feet, allowing for more space for yards and gardens.

While the homes are small and meant to be affordable, care is being taken with them, she added.

“They will be well built with good materials,” she said. “They are being built to last. We are not taking short cuts.”

Of the public funds provided, King County supplied $756,000 for this project, according to Mark Ellerbrook, a regional housing and community development manager for the county. He recently expressed enthusiasm for the revised plans.

“We are excited that there is a concept to move this program forward. We know there is a need on Vashon,” he said.

He added that he does not see the small size of the homes as a deterrent.

“With costs rising and demand rising, we are always interested in supporting innovative and different approaches to see what might work,” he said. “We need to support different concepts in different locations to meet the affordable housing needs that we have.”

When Vashon HouseHold bought the 6- acre parcel in 2002, its plan was to build 14 homes of about 1,300 square feet with homeowners contributing labor. The project hit several delays, however, Szala said, including the required lowering of Bank Road — which was costly — and the recession, which dried up funds for federally subsidized mortgages and caused the closing of Northwest Housing Development Corp., Vashon HouseHold’s partner in the project. That organization had secured construction financing from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Program, and when Northwest Housing went out of business more than a year ago, Szala said, that funding went with it. Since then, Vashon HouseHold has been trying to “rejigger” the project, he noted, arriving at this solution with county and state funding partners last month.

Szala said his organization was determined to find a way to move ahead because the island needs more affordable housing badly, both to rent and to own. He noted that Vashon HouseHold has a waiting list to rent its current properties some 60 people deep, and the Sunflower project could help take a bit of the pressure off Vashon’s rental market.

“There is a possibility that people who are currently renting can own a home,” he added.

Looking ahead, Szala said that Vashon HouseHold may try to raise $10,000 per home — $140,000 — to help with down payment assistance.

The Sunflower development was originally named in honor of Sarah Bremner, an island girl who died in 1994 and who had lived across the street from the proposed development on Bank Road. At the time of the land purchase, her parents, William and Jane Bremner, said their daughter loved sunflowers and that her nickname was Flower.

Islanders interested in learning more about Sunflower and owning a home there should email Szala at Chris@Vashonhousehold.org or call him at 463-6454.