Bellingham City Council approves purchase of new site for tiny home transition-living villages
A pair of Bellingham tiny home villages that were facing eviction now have a permanent home after the Bellingham City Council voted Monday night to buy a site in the Birchwood area.
Few details were available immediately about the 0.8-acre site near the former Northwood Hall at Northwest and Maplewood avenues.
City Council President Dan Hammill announced the purchase of the site at 3300 Northwest Ave. for $1.2 million from Northwest Ave. LLC, with a closing date of April 30.
Monday’s purchase agreement allows the nonprofit Homes Now! to move its Swifthaven and Unity Village tiny home enclaves to the Birchwood neighborhood site, Hammill said.
“We’re proud to partner with organizations like HomesNow! to create safe, welcoming places for people to stay while they seek housing,” Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund said Tuesday in a statement at the city’s website. “This purchase will enable a future affordable housing site while also serving an important immediate need.”
Homes Now! chairman Doug Gustafson said the new village will be called North Haven.
“It would be awesome if it was a new third village rather than a relocation, but it’s better than both sites being shut down or whatever as well,” Gustafson told The Bellingham Herald in a direct message on social media.
“Over the past several years, homelessness has continued to increase, and having more sheltering options for people experiencing homelessness is crucial at this time to alleviate the housing emergency,” Gustafson said in the city’s statement.
As late as last July, officials had been looking at a Meridian Street location for both Swift Haven and Unity Village, which house approximately 50 people in about 10-feet by 12-feet dwellings with common food, laundry and other services.
Those villages are operated by Homes NOW! under a temporary permit, but they must move soon. Unity Village near the Post Point wastewater treatment plant is in the way of an expansion project, and Swift Haven, at the Geri Fields ball park, is on land bought with state funds specifically designated for recreation.
This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 9:45 AM.
