— by Fred Klein —

First off, OPAL is to be congratulated for thinking big and initiating the first large, affordable rental housing initiative that Eastsound’s seen since Wally and Gretchen Gudgell’s creation of Lavender Hollow over twenty years ago.

Likewise, OPAL’s approach to gather community input via an initial public meeting on June 23rd, the design workshop and open house last week, and the promise of additional opportunities for public involvement including a booth at the Saturday Market is exemplary and extraordinary in its scope.

Estimated to run $9.2 million dollars, the project is indeed, a major undertaking.

As a participant in the design workshop, during the hour long site design effort when everyone was earnestly struggling to address the myriad issues involved in creating a coherent and sensitive mini-community, I had concerns of a more fundemental nature…namely, that dividing the project cost by the number of apartments led to the inescapable conclusion that the average cost of each apartment becomes $306 thousand dollars and change. Now…because of the financial magic made possible thru government grants, tax credits, volunteerism, and generous contributions by local philanthropists, the rent for the apartments will bear no relationship to these costs…but still…

OPAL runs a tight ship…the costs are real…and I’ll stick out my neck and assert that less than 50% of the project costs are for the sticks and bricks of the apartments themselves…with more than half of the costs paying for the raw land, site utilities and land development, services, memberships, and hook-up fees, costs for permits, professional services, and administration of the project. (I’ve not seen OPAL’s data which backs up the $9.2M figure.)

I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some way for our community to get a greater value than when, collectively, we commit what to me is a staggering amount of resources for a total of 30 one, two, and three bedroom apartments…particularly when I’m told that young people working at island wages struggle to pay more than $250 to $350 monthly rents.

One idea which came from several tables at the June 23rd public meeting was to include within the project something akin to a boarding house…an idea which the OPAL Board considered and, perhaps timidly, rejected.

But consider for a moment that a one-bedroom apartment “counts” as a single dwelling unit which soaks up 1/30th of all those project costs listed above. And consider that our Unified Development Code defines a “family” as “up to eight unrelated persons”…just think about the implications here…and how these facts point towards a way to serve more than the thirty individuals, couples, or families as presently envisioned, and spread the costs accordingly.

So here’s an idea…re-conceptualize that one-bedroom apartment as a kitchen, living / dining area, and up to FOUR suites, each consisting of a bedroom, small sitting area, and private bath…a single dwelling by all relevant definitions, capable of housing up to eight persons. Imagine how several dwellings like this would expand the impact of this new rental community. Consider the impact on the overall economics…in terms of presenting an option for singles or young couples who can’t afford projected rates for (say) a two bedroom apartment, even if they shared?…consider the overall project economics…the increase in gross rental income while lowering the rent rate to individuals and expanding the range of persons able to be served.

Many of us have experienced sharing living quarters at some time in our lives…imagine how much easier doing so would be in a structure designed from the get-go for that purpose rather than attempting to make do with a house designed for a nuclear family. Hey…even some seniors might find this desirable for the companionship and social interaction.

Of course, such a sharing of living space, even with zones of privacy, offers considerable challenges. But consider the building as the “hardware”, and everyone knows “hardware” needs “software”, properly configured, in order for it to function properly. So, most certainly, some “software” would need to be created…agreements entered into by residents to resolve the inevitable issues which arise from our humanity…really just extensions of the civil society which we all enjoy…a few commitments about mutual respect and communication…concepts which OPAL already practices and embodies.

From its inception, OPAL has broken new ground with the community land trust (CLT) model and the creation of permanent affordable housing. As a founding member, first board president, and architect for its first project, I recall that innovation in a number of aspects of Opal Commons took us to the head of the line for financing. Many communities and non-profit developers are addressing today’s challenging housing market by using a variety of innovative approaches such as granny-flats, tiny houses, and single-room-occupancy units, to serve targeted populations in need. My experience is that housing financiers are often on the alert for innovative ways to leverage their funds and reward applicants with creative solutions.

I invite the OPAL Board to reconsider the conventionality of its initial conception for its first, large, rental development. Explore some possibilities outside the box…recapture the sense of pioneering which is the root of OPAL’s success. Don’t settle for some one, two, and three bedroom apartments, just because they’re easy to manage.

…See ALSO

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