Kulshan Community Land Trust recently purchased 8.2 acres of land in Ferndale, the organization’s largest project to date.
The nonprofit hopes the plot of land, which is located at 2039 Thornton Rd., will contain 50 or more homes, all of which will be affordable housing for those in the community.
Kulshan Community Land Trust (KulshanCLT) partners with first-time home buyers in Whatcom County who get priced out of the current housing market, said Dean Fearing, executive director of KulshanCLT. In the past, KulshanCLT has worked with low- to moderate-income families, but due to the housing market, has recently started working with buyers earning up to 120% of the median income.
“They’ve been saving to buy a home, but with home prices increasing the way they have and a lack of supply, they’ve realized that putting down roots in our community isn’t an opportunity anymore,” Fearing said.
When someone purchases a home through the program, KulshanCLT takes the title of the land the home is on. Fearing said this ensures the nonprofit can keep the home affordable, forever.
“That ensures that people with jobs in our community can afford to buy,” Fearing said.
The homes in Ferndale will contribute to KulshanCLT’s growing communities in Bellingham, Sumas, Lyden and Blaine.
Recently acquired by KulshanCLT, 2039 Thornton Rd. in Ferndale will likely hold around 50 homes. (Map courtesy of the City of Bellingham) After being disenrolled from the Nooksack Tribe and evicted from her home, Cathalina Barril was able to purchase a home in Bellingham with KulshanCLT.
Barril said she was driving around after tensions with the tribe worsened when she saw some of the townhomes constructed by KulshanCLT. After calling for more information, KulshanCLT homeownership coordinator Shell Philhower helped Barril begin the process.
“From the process of filling out paperwork with Kulshan to getting my keys, it was about six months,” Barril said.
The townhome Barril moved into was already built, and wasn’t as desirable as other units, which likely impacted the short wait time.
Barril said one of her neighbors was on the waiting list for a home for around six years, and another neighbor waited about a decade. The KulshanCLT website says it has a wait time of around two years.
Barril now lives in a house with a renewable 99-year lease in her name that can be passed down to her kids if they choose to stay in the community.
“With so much pressure on the housing market now, we’ve realized that we really have to grow our capacity to help more families,” Fearing said.
The seller of the 8.2-acre property waited a year while KulshanCLT applied and was granted over $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, according to a press release.
Fearing said this will be a big expansion both for Whatcom County and KulshanCLT’s team.
“There’s going to be a lot of growing for us,” Fearing said of the nonprofit’s staff of six, “but the need is there and people are reaching out to us now more than ever before asking us to do more in the community.”
The initial plan for the development of the 8.2 acres includes a mix of single-family homes, zero-lot-line townhomes and co-op homes.
The site also contains a small barn, which Fearing hopes they are able to preserve in a way that serves as an asset to the community, such as a community center. If the idea were to come to fruition, the transformed barn would join City Sprouts Farm as KulshanCLT’s second non-home project.
Ferndale Mayor Greg Hansen is reportedly a supporter of the project, saying that affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues in the city.
“We couldn’t do the work we do without the support of our local elected officials,” Fearing said, who have helped in the past with zoning issues, funding resources and more. “The mayor of Ferndale has been very receptive to us doing a larger project out there.”
As exciting as the project may be, it will be a long road ahead. Fearing said the first step is to sort out land regulations and zoning as well as figure out how to maximize density. They hope to begin construction in four years. Fearing said the homes should be complete by 2030.
