Homes for Islanders Celebrates with New Home Owners

Carolyn Carroll and small cohort accept keys for her Woodland Estates home from Homes For Islanders Executive Director Justin Roche

Eight Families of New Homeowners : “This is a Time to Say Thanks”

Dustin and Samantha Coy, Dennis and Jesica DeHart, Chad and Alicia Kimple, John Russell, Carolyn Carroll, Rebecca Evans, Cara Russell and Jason and Wendy Wooding are the proud neighbors of Woodland Estates, a new community that they built together over the past year.

Their homes were purchased and constructed through Homes for Islanders (HFI). The new homeowners, with their families, neighbors and friends, gathered at Rosario Resort’s Discovery House on Wednesday, May 5 to celbrate the completion of the first HFI Orcas Island project.

HFI  home builders, including friends and family, must devote at least 35 hours a week for a year during construction.  They work in teams under HFI supervision to build all the homes in the group.  No one moves in until all six homes are 100% complete.

Justin Roche, Executive Director of HFI, said that the group that built the Orcas Project was  unique in many ways. It was the first group without a carpenter amongst them, and they got off to a slow start. “But we kicked into high gear and finished strong.

“Each owner hit a roadblock, and a different person at every part stepped forward to jumpstart.”  Roche noted that there were no “drop-outs” among those who committed to the “sweat-equity” home ownership project, over a year ago.

The Rosario-area group was on the whole a younger group than previous HFI projects, and they had the highest contribution from parents. “They put in the most hours of any community we’ve seen before, about 7,700 hours volunteer, or 1,000 hours per house,” said Roche.

Larry Coddington was the Woodland Construction Supervisor, and at the awards ceremony  the “Closed Mouth Award” was bestowed on him, citing that “He didn’t gossip or bad mouth anybody,” said Carolyn Carroll, speaking on behalf of the Woodlands Estates homeowners.  Coddington was assisted by Ed Eastman.

The Woodlands sites were developed by John Miller with a density bonus for affordable housing. The density bonus requires that homes must be owner occupied by low or moderate income households for fifty years. The remaining lots are scheduled for market rate development.

Carroll  thanked John Campbell, Homes for Islanders Secretary and architect and called him “The Father of Afffordable Housing.”

“He started the ball rolling and investigated the USDA for rural assistance… with Alan Wiemeyer as liaison to the construction community, they [continued to form Homes for Islanders]…. They had no clue what they were getting into — massive amounts of paperwork.”

Campbell has said he simply explored the problem “What are we going to do to provide housing for laborers?”

He described the typical HFI owner-builder: “The main requirements are regular employment and good credit history. Construction is modest, durable and cost effective. HFI provides sites, financing, house plans and on-the-job training and direction. Home builders work together as teams to build all the homes and no one moves in until all homes are completely finished. Home owners move in with substantial, earned home equity.”

Carroll thanked the various government agencies that had been essential in supporting the Woodland Estates owner-builders, such as the USDA Community Frameworks for the Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Home loans (acquired with the assistance of Islanders Bank), the Housing Trust Fund through the U.S. Dept of Commerce and San Juan County’s down payment assistance for very-low-income residents and through the density bonus.

New homeowner Chad Kimple thanked key business volunteers, including  Orcas Island heavy equipment operators, electricians, dry wallers,  insulation and gutter installers, carpeting and hardware water service providers, developers – and also “neighbor and friend” Mitch Brunner, who put up with the constant hammering and other construction inconveniences, and the Orcas Christian School volunteers, who donated hours, raking rocks, hauling lumber and painting.

Kimple also thanked his closest neighbors, saying, “You really get to know your neighbors by swinging hammers next to them for 14 months.”

Mario Villanuvea, State Director for Rural Development, assisted Roche in handing out the Certificates of  Completion and the keys to the new homes. In his comments, Villanuvea said, “The  USDA Rural Development has to be about more than grants… because it is  transforming rural America. “ He noted that 46 percent of the active Armed Forces come from rural America, and credited its willingness “to do hard work, to come together, and to build community.”

“Homes for Islanders is a truly American program: not a giveaway but an opportunity,” Villanuvea said.

Now HFI has completed 33 homes on San Juan and Orcas Islands. Its next project is North Beach Gardens, six homes off North Beach Road and Shady Lane due for completion in the fall or early winter. Rick Holtman is the HFI construction manager responsible for organizing, training and directing the work. Nancy Brown, John Howard, Bonnie Mahony, Rene Sturk, Dan Vierthaler and Antonio Zapeta-Itzep and Bernice Arevalo have purchased the building sites.

While HFI plans 20 more homes on San Juan Island in the next two years; the organization is looking for possible site development for future homes on Orcas Island, and interested prospective homeowners can apply at  www.homesforislanders.org or call 370-5944.