Offer accepted for Willows Inn Restaurant; proceeds to fund new Lighthouse Mission facility
Lighthouse Mission Ministries accepted an offer from a prospective buyer to purchase The Willows Inn properties on Lummi Island.
The Mission will not be disclosing the identity of the prospective buyer or the offer price until a sales transaction is closed, according to Lighthouse Mission Ministries Chief Advancement Officer Loran Zenonian.
However, the 2023 assessed valuation of the properties was about $2.4 million.
Bids opened in April of 2023 after the restaurant was donated to the Lighthouse Mission in December 2022 by Tim and Marcia McEvoy, the previous owners.
The properties at 2579 W. Shore Drive and 2560 W. Shore Drive were offered for sale either separately or together. The accepted offer is for both the former eight-bedroom, eight-bath Willows Inn and another property with a three-bedroom home and two small cottages, according to Zenonian.
The Lighthouse Mission plans to use the proceeds from the property sale to help fund the construction of its new $27 million homeless services facility, which is ongoing.
“The sale of this property will be a big step toward funding our construction project. Our new facility will be better equipped to help more of our neighbors facing homelessness receive hope, shelter, food, and the services they need to get back to a thriving life,” Lighthouse Mission Ministries President and CEO Hans Erchinger-Davis said in a previous news release about the donation of the restaurant.
The new building is being constructed on the same lot as its old Holly Street shelter and services building, which was demolished in March 2023. It’s expected to double the nonprofit’s capacity to house and serve unhoused people. The new, five-story facility will be able to shelter up to 400 people — 300 daily with 100 overflow spaces available during severe weather events.
“This is a powerful story of human need and people that see it and want to help. (Tim and Marcia McEvoy of Bellingham, owners of The Willows Inn on Lummi Island) were willing to donate one of the top restaurants in the world to help realize this cutting-edge plan to take care of homelessness in Whatcom County,” Erchinger-Davis said in a previous interview with The Bellingham Herald.
Construction on the new facility is expected to be completed this year.
The nationally acclaimed Willows Inn restaurant has been recognized as one of the best restaurants in the country with overnight accommodations for 16 guests. However, in recent years restaurant management settled lawsuits relating to allegations of underpaying staff and has been accused by some staff members of sexual harassment and racism, according to earlier reporting in The Herald.
“Our hope is that people see the story of redemption in this because the restaurant has had a bit of a checkered history. It’s going to such a good cause to help people that have nothing,” Erchinger-Davis said.
This story was originally published May 20, 2024 at 4:45 PM.
