PORT ANGELES — Serenity House of Clallam County will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 28-unit Port Angeles apartment complex for the homeless at noon next Thursday.
Serenity House is building the Maloney Heights complex for the chronically homeless at 2317 W. 18th St., Port Angeles, where city, county and state officials will join the dedication.
Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County also plans to build 14 single-family homes for people now living in substandard housing on the 4.3-acre Maloney Heights site.
The single-family homes will be located on the 2300 block of 16th Street.
All told, the $3.5 million Maloney Heights project will bring 42 permanent affordable housing units to the area.
“That’s a big and exciting event for a small, rural community,” said Kathy Wahto, executive director of Serenity House of Clallam County.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Serenity House apartments is also a nod to the Habitat for Humanity development at Maloney Heights, Wahto said.
“We see it as a ground-breaking for both aspects,” she said.
“This is one big mutual partnership.”
Partners in development
The Housing Authority of the County of Clallam and Peninsula Community Mental Health Center are partners in Maloney Heights.
The project is funded from $2.75 million in state and federal grants, $391,000 from Habitat for Humanity, $261,000 from Serenity House, $250,000 from the city of Port Angeles housing rehabilitation fund and $45,000 from Clallam County.
“This money was hard to get, and in some ways we were very, very fortunate to get it,” Wahto said.
“The state is not distributing capital money this year.”
The apartment complex will be built first. Each of the 28 small-scale units will be rented for 30 percent of household income, which averages about $120 dollars per month.
“They’re not fancy, but they’re certainly what I would call very suitable housing,” Wahto said.
Eight of the apartment units will be reserved for homeless veterans.
The one-bedroom apartments are for people who are chronically homeless because of their mental health or chemical dependency. Peninsula Community Mental Health will offer support services to residents.
The next phase in the project — infrastructure for the single-family Habitat for Humanity complex — will begin in May.
Habitat houses
Once the utilities are extended to the 14 lots, Habitat will build two houses per year for the next seven years, said Harry Gravatte, construction manager for Habit for Humanity of Clallam County.
Habitat homes are built by volunteers and with “sweat equity” from those who will live in them. They are sold to the new owners at no profit and with no interest charged.
Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County filed a lawsuit against the city of Port Angeles last year, claiming it shouldn’t have to pave and widen a gravel portion of 16th Street near the site.
Habitat dismissed the lawsuit last month after a traffic study determined that it should not have to improve the 580-foot section of road and the city accepted the determination.
Gravatte said the issue with the city has been resolved, and the permits are in place.
“It’s all good,” he said.
Corstone Contractors of Snohomish, which submitted the lowest bid to Serenity House, will finish construction on the apartment complex late this year or early next year, Wahto said.
For more information about Serenity House of Clallam County, phone 360-452-7224.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
