Timeline set for opening of new Bellingham tiny home village
A village of tiny homes for those without permanent shelter will open by the end of May, combining two similar tiny home villages that must move.
No exact opening date was set in an announcement made during a City Council committee meeting Monday. Volunteers — including City Council member Michael Lilliquist — have been building new 8-foot by 12-foot structures for what will be an enclave of about 50 homes at the site on Northwest Avenue south of Bellingham Fire Station 5.
Bellingham bought the site for $1.2 million in 2024, and has been preparing for the new North Haven village, spending $1.4 million to add utilities such as electricity, water and sewer service, Community and Economic Development Division Manager Tara Sundin told the City Council in a meeting of the Community and Economic Development Committee.
“More permanence is what you’re seeing with our investment in mobile units,” Sundin told the council.
City Council members voted unanimously on Monday to surplus and donate to the United Way of Skagit County 15 tiny homes that are about 8 feet by 8 feet and considered too small for the new North Haven site.
Both the Swift Haven village near Geri Field and the Unity Village enclave near Post Point must move soon. They will continue to be operated by Homes Now!
At the new site, they will have mobile kitchens, laundry, shower and toilet facilities, Sundin said.
Lilliquist told The Bellingham Herald that he’s volunteered for several days at the site, helping to frame the individual homes.
“This seemed like a good opportunity to help. City dollars only solve some of our problems,” he said in a phone interview.
