SEQUIM — Earth is moving as developers prep land to begin moving in manufactured homes as soon as next spring for the new Lavender Meadows development.
Construction work began after the Sequim City Council approved a binding site plan for the 217-site community in January.
A city council split vote in December 2019 held up development because of concerns over whether the development’s streets should be privately or publicly owned.
Leah Brooke, co-owner of the development, said she and development partners plan to build all private streets to, or higher than, city standards with sidewalks, streetlights and other amenities.
Developers say Lavender Meadows is a 55-plus community where at least one member of the household must be 55 or over and all household members must be 45 or over. The website states it’s “a place for active older adults to retire in affordable luxury.”
Build in phases
KC Pearson, operations manager for ECM Homes, contractor for the manufactured homes, said Lavender Meadows will be built in three phases on 38.3 acres at the intersection of North Sequim Avenue and Port Williams Road.
Phase one will begin on the southwest portion of the property along North Sequim Avenue.
City officials mandated that streets and utilities go in place before homes are built.
Brooke said there’s been “a lot of out-of-state interest from across the country” for various reasons, including residents not needing to pay property taxes or a homeowners’ association fee.
Developers say costs for moving in depend on what residents want.
“There’s a wide variety of homes available,” Pearson said. “(Residents) can scale down for a bigger yard or for a larger home.”
Homes built by Palm Harbor manufactured homes range from about $200,000-$250,000 based on size of the home, amenities such as countertops, and lot size.
Previously, developers said homeowners choose design specifics with homes coming from a factory new with energy efficient ratings and 30-year roofs.
Pearson said leasing land costs $550 to $650 a month based on square footage with utilities paid by the resident.
Lots can be reserved now for a fully-refundable $500 deposit, she said.
Lease payments support a part-time maintenance position for upkeep on common areas, park areas and a clubhouse and fire pits, developers said in previous city presentations.
There will be garden space, two fenced dog parks, a few pocket parks, a clubhouse and various courts built depending on residents’ wishes, Pearson said.
Developers plan to improve about 2,600 feet of frontage improvements along North Sequim Avenue and Port Williams Road, too, at a cost of about $1.5 million.
Prior to its sale, the property was a dairy farm from 1946 until the early 2000s, when family members put it on the market about 15 years ago.
Tom Booth, one of three family partners to own and sell the farm, said nearby development made it unusable as a farm.
Brooke said they’re putting in high-end manufactured homes built to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standards, similar to stick built homes.
The development doesn’t allow for mobile homes, she said. Brooke said she prefers to call Lavender Meadows a “community” to avoid being confused with low-income housing and/or mobile home parks.
For more information about Lavender Meadows, visit LavenderMeadows Park.com, or contact developers at 360-517-5230 or info@lavendermeadow spark.com.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
