These Whatcom County affordable housing projects are getting underway in 2026
Bellingham & Whatcom County Housing Authorities (BWCHA) are on track to make significant progress this year on two affordable housing developments.
The first is the Unity Street Redevelopment project, which will transform the BWHCA’s former downtown office site at the corner of Unity and Flora streets into affordable housing for a range of low-income households.
“This workforce housing will be a significant asset to the community and provide opportunities for residents to access nearby amenities, employment, and transportation,” BWHCA Executive Director Andrew Calkins told The Bellingham Herald.
The project is expected to include 64 one-bedroom and two-bedroom units for people earning less than 60% of the area median income (AMI). Seventy percent of the units will be affordable for people with incomes of approximately 50% and 60% of the AMI. A portion of the homes will also be reserved for people with disabilities, according to BWHCA.
The median household income in Bellingham in 2023 was $65,821, according to U.S. Census data.
Calkins said funding commitments from the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County, along with a recent $6 million award from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Housing Trust Fund, are helping to push the project forward.
“This is a significant award for this project and allows us to move forward on our rapid timeline with plans to break ground later this year,” Calkins said.
The total project cost is estimated to be almost $30 million, according to the Washington State Department of Commerce. Occupancy is anticipated in 2028, according to BWHCA.
BWHCA is also working on a rehabilitation and elevation project for the Sumas Square Apartments, which provided affordable housing to seniors for almost 30 years before sustaining significant damage from flooding in 2021.
The site on Second Street in Sumas was vacated, and residents were permanently relocated, according to BWHCA.
The organization secured the necessary funding last year from the disaster recovery grant pool through the Department of Commerce to bring the project back online.
The site did take on water again amid the recent December flooding disaster but Calkins described the additional damage as “very minimal.” He said the damage isn’t expected to increase costs or delay the rehabilitation project, which is expected to begin later this year.
The renovated building is expected to provide 11 affordable homes for seniors when it is complete. BWHCA expects to re-occupy the building in 2027.
The state established targeted housing goals for every county in Washington over the next 20 years. Between 2024 and 2044, Whatcom County is estimated to need almost 35,000 new housing units. About 22,000 of those units, more than 60%, need to be affordable, according to the city. Bellingham makes up about 48% of the housing production in Whatcom County. So the city needs to produce almost 17,000 total housing units to help meet the goal. More than 10,000 of those need to be affordable.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
