County County Approves $500k Grant to Habitat Housing Project
SEQUIM – Clallam County Commissioners approved a half-million dollar grant Tuesday to help Habitat For Humanity of Clallam County get a step closer to beginning site work on a 50-unit affordable home development in Sequim.
The funding will come from what is left of the $15 million in federal stimulus funding the County received during the pandemic in 2021, known as ARPA funds. At the time, County Commissioners identified eight priority areas that they would dedicate the ARPA funds to, and “Affordable housing/homelessness support” is among those categories.
Habitat Executive Director Colleen Robinson says this grant will combine with the million dollar grant they got from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation in 2022. Robinson is also optimistic about her chances of being awarded a $2 million State Commerce grant they applied for with the help of the City of Sequim, and the $2 million federal grant announced by Congressman Derek Kilmer last year. Those last two grants are pending budget approval, but this latest County grant keeps the project on target to get construction going in 2025.
“Sure, half a million is extremely helpful and beneficial. At the end of last year in December, we received a quote for what they call “moving the dirt”, which is all the stuff up to putting a shovel in the ground to build a house, and we’re looking at about 3.8 million. So, 500,000 is very, very helpful, but it was a cow pasture. So now we have to make it accessible for 50 units. We’re hoping that’s going to be done sometime mid-2025, and then we’ll start building the homes, which is what we want to get to and what we really need here.”
The Brownfield Road Project will develop more than 50 affordable, workforce homes, bolstering the local economy by creating jobs during the construction phase and enabling key community workers to live within the area they serve.
Source: MyClallamCounty.com