PORT TOWNSEND — Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County held a groundbreaking ceremony for a six-house project on Cliff Street.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Executive Director Jamie Maciejewski said. “It means we’ll have 10 homes under construction. It makes an impact in the community. “Six new homes in a beautiful location, efficient homes. It adds quality of life for people. It keeps people in our community.

“It means we’re doing what we need to do. We’re having impact where people are asking us to have impact.”

These homes also are set up to be kept permanently affordable for the community.

There to witness the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday were 50 to 60 people, including habitat staff, volunteers, the project architect, members of the public and three families likely to live on the property.

Construction should start next month, Bob Collins, director of construction, land and strategy, said at the groundbreaking. The homes should be ready for occupancy within six to nine months after that.

The actual speed of the build always depends and will partially be dependent on volunteer help, he said.

These homes are the first of a new design, which helps to maximize the floor plan by removing hallways, Collins said.

The design was sought because Habitat for Humanity was interested in using the city of Port Townsend’s cottage ordinance, which allows for footprints of 800 square feet, Maciejewski said. Historically, the organization hadn’t gone less than 900 square feet.

The build will utilize advanced framing, which reduces lumber usage notably, allowing for more insulation, Collins said.

Habitat reached out to Port Townsend’s architecture firm studioSTL to look into improving efficiency in the home, with the loss of footprint in mind.

The homes have incorporated 9-foot ceilings into their design, expanding on the sense of space, Collins said. The homes also will have metal roofs.

Habitat also worked with an arborist, the city and the architect to maintain the forested section at the back of the property, Maciejewski said. Care will be paid to protecting the trees and their roots throughout the construction process.

Of the six homes, two will be three bedrooms and the remaining four will be two bedrooms.

The homes will be built in partnership between experienced contractors, future homeowners and volunteers. To volunteer, visit https://www.habitatejc.org/construction-volunteers. No experience is required.

In order to keep the homes affordable in the long term, Habitat maintains ownership of the land if the home is sold.

“We have a ground lease that ties the two together,” Maciejewski said. “That ground lease is for 99 years, it’s renewable, and it’s inheritable; you can pass it on to your kids. The tool of the ground lease allows us to protect the appreciation of the home. In exchange for people getting an affordable mortgage, they agree to limit their future appreciation.”

Before implementing that method, houses would appreciate, Maciejewski said. When sold at market rate, they would often cease to be affordable, she said.

Of the six homes to be built on Cliff Street, three are spoken for, Maciejewski said.

Applications are open year-round, she said.

“We have three primary qualification requirements,” Maciejewski said. “One is that they have an ability to pay, which means that they have qualified for a mortgage that is enough to purchase a Habitat house from a funder. Second is that they have a need for what we do. They can’t really solve the housing issue on their own. Third is that they are willing to partner to help do sweat equity on their house or other people’s houses, or in other ways, working and volunteering in our organization. Those three things get people into our home ownership program where they are working towards becoming a homeowner.”

Habitat staff often are able to pair interested homebuyers with lenders who work well with the organization, Maciejewski said. They also may help buyers secure down payment support.

The organization has a regular hour-long orientation where people can find out more about how the process works. To find an orientation schedule, visit https://www.habitatejc.org/homes.

Other projects

Habitat currently has four near-complete homes wrapping construction, two on Eddy Street in Port Townsend and two in Irondale.

The organization will break ground on 14 homes at Landes and 16th Street in May, Maciejewski said. Those homes are expected to start building as the Cliff Street cottages are completed.

Also on the horizon is the Mason Street project in Port Hadlock. The organization recently announced it has selected Fairbank Construction as build partners on the 150-unit project.

“That will be a three- to five-year project,” Maciejewski said. “We’ll do it in phases and the first homes will be occupied in 2027.”

Maciejewski said the organization has raised $4.5 million toward that project, but there’s still a “significant amount” to raise.

“Sen. (Maria) Cantwell is supporting a request for $3 million in Congress (and) Rep. (Derek) Kilmer and Sen. (Patty) Murray are supportive of that too,” Maciejewski said. “We are hoping that will come through.”

To find more about the Mason Street project, visit https://www.habitatejc.org/mason-street.

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.