PORT TOWNSEND — After a series of false starts, foundation work is expected to begin on the Cherry Street apartment complex next month, reactivating the city of Port Townsend’s push for affordable housing and its partnership with the Homeward Bound Community Land Trust.
Foundation work is expected to last five weeks in the first phase of the project. Eventually, the plan is to bring the four two-bedroom apartments on the upper floor up to code and to build four new studio-sized spaces on the ground floor.
“The foundation is kind of the linchpin for us,” said Mark Cooper, the treasurer for Homeward Bound’s board of trustees.
It’s been almost two years since the building was carried by barge in May 2017 to Port Townsend from Victoria.
Since then, the city has bonded $837,000 and lent it to Homeward Bound, a nonprofit based in Port Angeles which focuses on providing affordable housing in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
“Homeward Bound has been dormant for many years,” City Manager David Timmons said. “What we’re trying to do is get them out of hibernation and get them on a project so they can do something more using the community land trust model.”
The organization had a contractor in place last year, but Timmons said those plans fell apart.
“Contractors are overwhelmed with work right now, and they had a contractor literally disappear,” he said. “Nobody knows where he went or what happened to him.”
Cooper said there were some additional challenges.
“There was a water line the city had mapped incorrectly under the property, and it was discovered an hour or two before the property was set in place,” he said. “We’ve had to make a few adjustments and go back to the drawing board.”
The foundation work originally was expected to start last month, but a cement subcontractor suffered a serious injury, Timmons said.
There aren’t many options for contractors now. Cooper said it took six months to find another one after the original contractor left.
“There’s a building boom right now, and finding contractors is pretty tough,” Cooper said. “I’ve talked to people who have waited two years to get their home painted. It really is that crazy out there.”
Once the first phase is finished, the goal will be to set the building on the foundation. Then Homeward Bound will decide the next steps, depending on cash flow, Cooper said.
“We have choices,” he said. “We could work on the infrastructure or finish rehabbing the upstairs. Possibly, although not very likely, we could do both at the same time.”
In the meantime, Cooper said Homeward Bound will discover what additional permits need to be approved. Those include the four 900-square-foot studio apartments to be added on the ground floor, plus a parking lot and additional infrastructure.
“We all feel very good about this,” Cooper said. “You have to take every day one day at a time, and make sure you have everything on your side.”
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56052, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
