PORT TOWNSEND — Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County is getting ready to celebrate its 25-year anniversary and, according to executive director Jamie Maciejewski, there’s a lot happening.
“We are going to be working on an affordable community,” Maciejewski said Friday in an address to the Chamber of Jefferson County.
“About three years ago, our board made a commitment to move to a permanently affordable housing model.”
Habitat for Humanity is known for offering a way to build homes to low-income people, but the local chapter is moving to a model where the organization will retain ownership of the land even as residents own the actual houses. It operates similarly to what’s known as a community land trust, Maciejewski said, but Habitat’s model is slightly different.
Under the model, ownership of the land is separated from the buildings on it, thereby restricting appreciation of the property. Habitat has always retained the right to buy back homes once the initial owner chooses to sell, Maciejewski said, but the land appreciation in East Jefferson County has made that expensive to do.
“By us continuing to own the land and lease the land to the owner, it makes it possible for us to control the future appreciation,” Maciejewski said.
In exchange for an affordable mortgage, homebuyers agree to have the appreciation of their homes restricted but are still allowed to sell their homes, Maciejewski said.
There are several projects using the model currently underway. One is near Landes and 18th Streets in Port Townsend, where Habitat is building six duplexes.
Maciejewski said Habitat is working with the city to build another 14 near 16th Street.
“We love the Landes Street location because it’s walkable to so much. It’s a great location,” Maciejewski said. “We feel like it’s a great place for people to be able to live in this community sustainably.”
But the larger project to use the permanently affordable model is in Port Hadlock, where Habitat has purchased 17 acres near the Jefferson County Library and Chimacum Primary School. A combination of state, federal and local funds is expanding sewer to the area, and once that happens, Habitat hopes to build up to 200 units of affordable housing.
Not all of those homes will be built by Habitat, Maciejewski said, but all will be permanently affordable.
Habitat for Humanity provides housing for people who make about 80 percent of area median income, and those units will make up about a third of the homes in the development.
For the remaining homes, Habitat hopes to find agencies or businesses to build housing affordable for the local workforce, including nurses, teachers and first responders.
“We are looking for community partners that are interested in housing for their workers,” Maciejewski said. “We could think creatively about that.”
Habitat’s success in East Jefferson County has come from significant support from the community, said Maria Drury, Habitat’s director of engagement, and moving forward, the organization is looking for additional support.
“Every nonprofit relies to a significant extent on the generosity of our community, through individual or organizational financial support,” Drury said.
“There are other ways too. If you have an interest in being a part of creating affordable housing in our community, and you have skills, we can figure that out.”
Habitat requires its homebuyers to contribute to the organization through sweat equity, or working for the organization. For most people, that means working on home construction, but for those unable to do that kind of work, other options are available.
Moving into spring, Drury said Habitat is looking for volunteers to work on its building projects.
This year, Habitat for the first time published its annual report online, with videos showing its work in the community.
According to the report, the local chapter raised $5.3 million in 2022, mostly from contributions, and spent $3.3 million, mostly on programs.
The report includes a homeowner survey, which found that 100 percent of respondents said their lives improved after moving into a home built by Habitat for Humanity.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
