Pea Patch Community Campus takes shape; housing construction to begin this Fall

||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON for PEA PATCH CAMPUS |||

The Pea Patch Campus is beginning to be shaped into the community we’ve been imagining.

Over the summer, local contractor Island Excavating completed site preparation, utility connections, stormwater management (no, that big hole in the ground is not a swimming pool!) and laid the foundation for a new entry road. Watch the site work video to see the progress. This January, construction gets underway on the Townhomes – 20 long-term affordable rental homes – with completion expected by the end of 2027.

Dawson Construction is building the 20 homes, designed by Environmental Works — the same architectural firm behind April’s Grove. The neighborhood will feature five buildings, each containing four homes, with a mix of studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom townhomes affordable to households with very low incomes. Funded in part by the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, the homes will be available to local wage earners, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and people exiting homelessness or unstable housing situations. To be eligible, applicants must currently live and/or work on Orcas Island.

Affordable housing is about more than rent that fits a household’s budget. All tenants will be offered voluntary supportive housing services to help them make the most of the stability that affordable housing provides. A member of the support team will hold office hours in the Curtis Farmhouse commons building, connecting residents with social services and other resources. Monthly rents are expected to range from $485 for a studio to $1,038 for a two-bedroom home. Eligibility requirements and applications will be available in fall 2027.

OPAL’s partner at the Pea Patch, the Orcas Island Food Bank, is also preparing to build a permanent home on the campus. OPAL owns the 11-acre property and will lease land to the Food Bank for a renewable 99-year term. The lease covers maintenance and operations, but there is no charge for the land.

The Food Bank building will bring together activities currently spread across five locations around the island, providing sufficient storage and workspace to meet the community food distribution needs for the next 75 years. It will also include a commercial kitchen where donated food can be transformed into prepared meals for seniors who can no longer cook and for people without access to kitchen facilities. Learn more about the new Food Bank building. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2027, with completion anticipated by the end of 2028. The campaign to build the Pea Patch Community Campus is closing in on its $40 million goal.

The campaign recently exceeded a $250,000 match from a Food Bank donor! To date, a bit more than $33.5 million has been raised from public, foundation and private sources to support site work and building construction.

Affordable Homes • Healthy Community

The $33.5 million includes a $4M federal appropriation from HUD. The HUD grant contract includes provisions that are inconsistent with OPAL’s and the Food Bank’s commitment to assuring participant’s privacy. The campaign team has learned that many of the contract provisions have been invalidated by a court and is seeking legal counsel. Both organizations stand in their values and will not compromise our commitment to respecting individual’s right to privacy.

The remaining $6.5 million is needed to pave roads, install landscaping and lighting, improve the health of green spaces, relocate a public path out of the wetland, install solar power and strengthen the Food Bank’s operational capacity as its new building and expand its services.

For OPAL, there is still a need to fund the cost of relocating and renovating of the historic Curtis Farmhouse — the childhood home of Bart Curtis and his brothers when the house stood at the corner of North Beach and Mt. Baker roads. The farmhouse will serve as the new commons building for the Pea Patch neighborhood of rental homes, with shared laundry facilities, an office, meeting room and small day kitchen. This beloved piece of Orcas history will once again become a place where neighbors gather, giving it a new purpose while preserving its connection to the island’s past.

Thank you to the many people in our community whose generosity has brought us this far!

In collaboration with the Orcas Island Community Foundation, OPAL and the Food Bank will launch an island-wide campaign in 2027 to fund the final phase and create a lasting safety net for generations to come. To help close the funding gap for this critical community resource, donations can be made through the Orcas Island Community Foundation’s Pea Patch Community Campus Fund at www.oicf.org.

OPAL Community Land Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing permanently affordable housing opportunities on Orcas Island. Through stewardship, community partnerships, and innovative housing solutions, OPAL works to ensure long-term housing stability for island residents. www.opalclt.org.