PORT TOWNSEND — The deadline for naming suggestions for an Olympic Community Action Programs housing project is midnight Friday.
The organization is preparing a ground-breaking ceremony later this month for the $15.4 million, 43-unit affordable housing project at Seventh and Hendricks streets in Port Townsend.
Once completed, the project is intended to support local residents making less than 50 percent of the median income for Jefferson County. The hope is the first occupants will be able to move in starting in fall 2022.
Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) had received entries into the competition as of Wednesday, but Executive Director Cherish Cronmiller did not know exactly how many had come in.
“This project has always been community-driven, and we want the community to help us in making this building not only a reality but a home for those who will occupy the 43-unit dwelling in the Castle Hill neighborhood of Port Townsend,” the contest’s website said.
“We want the naming of this housing development to reflect our shared values for diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Entries can be submitted to https://olycap.org/namingcontest.
The winning name will be selected by a panel of judges comprised of OlyCAP board members and community members between July 10-14, with the winning name announced at the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new building at 3 p.m. July 22, Cronmiller said.
“Seventh and Hendricks is a lot to be writing out, so I hope it’s something easier than that to spell and type,” she said Wednesday.
Construction is expected to start in August, Cronmiller said.
After struggling to receive funding for the project, Cronmiller said she will be glad to see construction begin.
“It’s desperately needed here in Port Townsend,” she said.
“There are people here that need housing who work here, have kids here. It’s critical that we keep those folks in our community and in our county.
“This building goes a long way to helping with that, and I’m hoping to see some of the other buildings that other people have been doing plans on come to fruition, because there is a tremendous housing shortage here. People are just desperate, and it’s got to be affordable to them.”
The new housing facility will have six studio apartments, 18 one-bedroom apartments, 15 two-bedroom apartments and three four-bedroom apartments below 50 percent of the area median income for Jefferson County, OlyCAP’s project page said.
The facility also will have early learning and a child care facility on site for residents and community members, as well as supportive services and unit designations for Discovery Behavioral Health, Safe Harbor Recovery Center, Dove House Advocacy Services and Olympic Neighbors, the page said.
The total project cost for construction is estimated at $15,452,692, and the largest portion is covered by an $11.3 million grant from the Washington Trust Fund.
OlyCAP has received a variety of other funding from local nonprofit donations, the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County and state government funding allocations, and other loans and grants.
More information on the project can be found at https://olycap.org/namingcontest.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
