It’s encouraging to see what folks can do when they come together and cooperate in the spirit of generosity. In just a year’s time volunteers, a social investor, local businesses and in-kind donors built a home for about $200,000 that a single mom and her son could afford to buy in the City of Langley. In American colonial times, and still practiced today in the Amish and Mennonite cultures, it’s called barn raising. Here on Whidbey it’s called home-raising.
The community celebrated its newest family—Sierra Colby and her son Arthur—Aug. 27th with an open house to thank everyone who took part in the ‘home-raising,’ in Upper Langley Cohousing.
“It’s nice to have the stability from a landlord’s going to sell, and having to move,” said Sierra, while her son played with a boy who lives next door. “The neighbors have their strengths and contributions. It’s a whole village here. The acreage, the proximity to Langley is awesome.”
Now that she doesn’t have to worry about rent increases, and is a new homeowner with an affordable mortgage, Sierra said it’s great to work nearby at Spyhop Public House while pursuing an online masters degree in counseling.
Upper Langley Cohousing is a permanently affordable, deed-restricted community of 16 lots on 10 acres. As of now, 15 homes are completed, with another under construction, which will host the Gonzalez family of seven next year. The key to permanent affordability is a deed restriction limiting the appreciation of the lot and home to 1.5% a year. A below-market home will never increase to market value.
When the previous owners of Lot 10 wanted to sell their property, Cary Peterson, who helped found and lives in the cohousing community, said: “…the stars aligned.” She began making inquiries about building a home for someone in the local workforce.
“A social investor said she would lend $250,000 to help buy the lot and build a structure,” said Cary. “That’s when we conceived of Whidbey Home-Raising, and started a small non-profit, sponsored by the Whidbey Community Foundation. I networked with local carpenters, asking them what they thought of building an affordable home. They said ‘YES.’”
A team formed around the idea, spearheaded by notable Whidbey builders Bob Dalton and Richard Epstein.
“We are helping someone build a home, and it gives people satisfaction to be a part of it,” said Cary. “The idea and opportunity were inspiring. I’m a farmer, and I am grateful to all who stepped forward to make this happen.”
When Cary asks for volunteers, people join up. She was asked years ago by Good Cheer’s board to help launch a food bank garden that is still thriving. Later, Cary and a team created a farm school program for K-12 students with the South Whidbey School District. After retiring from her work at the school farm, Cary put her energy into creating housing for folks like herself. Her invitation to help is irresistible.
“It was September 1 of last year when I started,” said Richard Epstein, retired owner of Epstein Custom Homes. “We were in Alaska. When I got back I started pounding nails for Cary.”
It took nearly 20 years from the time Cary and three others bought the property in 1995 to when the permits were finally granted for development.
“When we were developing the property we wanted this to be something regular people can afford,” said Cary. “The four founders never earned a lot of money. We wanted something we could afford, and we were not motivated by profit. My house is a recycled B&B cottage. Then the city passed an income-qualified deed restricted housing ordinance in 2011. Upper Langley Cohousing was the one and only development to take advantage of it. Lot were sold for $75,000. While the lots are small, everyone shares in the forest, garden, meadows and Common House.”
Buoyed by the community’s stepping up in building Lot 10 in a year’s time—and continued support from volunteers, local businesses and community donors–work has commenced on building a home for Christian Gonzalez, his wife and five sons.
“Unexpectedly Lot #15 became available,” added Cary. “I said to the team are you up for it? They said go for it.”
This time around, a social investor helped purchase the lot, the Whidbey Community Foundation loaned $50,000 toward building costs, and another $150,000 will be loaned by other social investors.
Working on Mondays and Tuesdays, volunteers are busy framing, hammering, sawing and using nail guns. Coffee, treats and lunch are provided by Gabbi Korrow, and Karol White, Whidbey Home-Raising board members. Concrete, drywall and insulation work are installed by paid contractors.
Christian Gonzalez was part of the work crew on Sept. 1. He works as a carpenter with Island Construction and is currently living in Oak Harbor with his family until the Upper Langley Cohousing home is built for his family.
“The big question was could it be feasible for me to provide for housing for my family in the meantime and be able to buy a lot,” said Christian. “To do it on my own would have been impossible—to take out a construction loan while I worked to pay rent, it would have made this project twice the cost. Being able to have the home-raising crew do what they do has been instrumental in making it possible.”
“You can see from word of mouth we have an amazing dedicated, energetic group of volunteers,” said Cary. “They are here on Labor Day, for heaven’s sake.”
Since the zoning was already in place for Upper Langley Cohousing, permitting for building the last two homes went smoothly. Cary mentioned Langley’s building inspector Scott Austin, who helped streamline the process, as someone who understood the unique qualities of the community.
“I’m a big fan of the City of Langley,” said Cary. “Once again I’d also like to give a shout out to all our donors and supporters.”
To learn more about the Whidbey Home-Raising team, visit this webpage.
In the meantime, Cary Peterson invites the community to participate in completion of the Gonzalez home.
“We invite others to donate to help a locally working family,” said Cary. Whidbey Community Foundation is our fiscal sponsor, and we really need community donations to pencil out. We can use people with building skills to help. We want to spread the word. There are many niches and solutions for affordable housing. We’re in the process of doing one little piece—providing housing for two families.”
Visit this webpage to learn more about community donations.
Cary looks at this project as an incubator—one that plants seeds for others to do likewise. She mentions the age range at Upper Langley Cohousing: “We are truly intergenerational. My mom is 97. The youngest is 3. Through home raising we’re able to create this. That was the inspiration.”
To learn more about Whidbey Home-Raising, visit this website.
Upper Langley Cohousing’s webpage provides interesting details of its model.