Gov. Jay Inslee, Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood and other officials joined community organizations to celebrate the construction of a set of permanently affordable, energy-efficient townhomes off Telegraph Road on Wednesday afternoon.
The development, called Telegraph Townhomes, features eight already completed and occupied townhomes, and four that are nearly finished.
The homes were built through a partnership between the Kulshan Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County, the Whatcom Community Foundation, the City of Bellingham, Whatcom County and other organizations.
The project will eventually consist of 52 permanently affordable homes, meaning there is a long-term price ceiling at which the houses can be bought and sold. They will be made available for purchase by county residents who satisfy the homebuying requirements of either Kulshan CLT or Whatcom Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity serves county residents making between 30% and 60% of area median income, while Kulshan CLT serves residents making 80% of area median income or less.
Gov. Jay Inslee pins a Governor’s Pin on volunteer Mike Roberts during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Telegraph Townhomes, a Habitat For Humanity project, held on July 13. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
The first 12 homes will be fitted with solar panels due to a grant from Puget Sound Energy. The homes will also include energy-efficient insulation that ensures energy usage for heating is kept to a minimum.
In a speech, Gov. Inslee praised the project, saying the townhomes are exemplary of what is needed to address the housing crisis and combat climate change.
“We have more homelessness per capita than similar states … because we have not built enough housing in the state of Washington,” Gov. Inslee said. “We have to build more housing” of all types and income levels.
On the topic of climate change, Gov. Inslee emphasized energy efficiency in residential buildings as key to making progress on reducing emissions.
“This Telegraph center has shown how you reduce carbon pollution” by making homes more energy-efficient, he said. “The answer to defeating climate change is as much in this Telegraph unit than it is in any wind turbine … or any solar power-generating facility.”
Before a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Gov. Jay Inslee talks with Chris vanStaalduinen and Troy Buist, right, about methods of construction of the Telegraph Townhomes, a Habitat For Humanity in Whatcom County project, on July 13. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
Sidhu agreed, saying the county needs even more projects like this one built.
“In the next 20 years, I would like to see that 45 percent of our housing is permanently affordable housing,” Sidhu said.
Sidhu also commended the spirit of local collaboration that has made the project successful so far, and emphasized the importance of “community building community.”
“We have very good partners in our community,” he said.
The project also shows the importance of taking a holistic approach to addressing housing needs, said Gina Stark, president of Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County and chair of the Whatcom Housing Alliance.
“You can’t solve something as big as the housing crisis by looking at this little piece or that little piece. It’s so much bigger than that,” Stark said.
She added that everything from land use, to environmental impact, to energy efficiency, to preparing homebuyers to be homeowners, had to be considered over the course of the project.
“We did that holistically as partners,” Stark said. “It wasn’t Kulshan that did it, it wasn’t Habitat that did it, it wasn’t the city or the county, we did it together as partners.”
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that prospective residents must make 20% to 70% below the area median income to qualify. Buyers must satisfy the income requirements and other partnership requirements of either Kulshan CLT or Whatcom Habitat for Humanity. The story was updated to reflect this change on July 14, 2022 at 12:28 p.m. The Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
