The OPAL 2016 Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 26 in the Parish Hall of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Eastsound. The event begins at 5 P.M. and the first hour includes hors d’oeuvres, a brief business meeting and the year-in-review presentation by Lisa Byers. At approximately 6 P.M., we’ll enjoy a potluck […]
Look at What You Made Possible
Your donations covered the costs of moving and renovating this house. Here you see it arriving by barge on Orcas Island. And here’s how it appears today, providing a loving home for a single mom who has lived on Orcas most of her life. She joins nine other homeowners who have been able […]
Two More Houses Move to Orcas
June 2015 – Two more houses arrived by barge on the same day – one from West Seattle and the other from Langley, B.C. The house from West Seattle was the topic of a news clip on King5 news. The reporter followed up by coming to Orcas to create another news story highlighting the need […]
25 Years of Affordable Housing
April 2014: As part of celebrating OPAL’s 25 year anniversary, we decided to create a report to send to all the businesses and individuals on Orcas Island, Our Report to You- 25 Years of Affordable Housing. The report reveals some of the milestones for the organization and is enhanced by Carla Stanley’s whimsical illustrations. In case […]
Property Owner Pursues Plan B for Preservation of Edith Macefield House; OPAL Community Land Trust Unable to Secure Funding to Move House to Orcas Island
Almost two months after it was announced that the nonprofit OPAL Community Land Trust would have the first opportunity to raise funds to move the Edith Macefield House from its current location in Ballard to Orcas Island, OPAL has ended efforts to raise the required funds. OPAL had hoped to renovate the house in order […]
With Your Help, Edith Macefield’s ‘Up House’ Will Float to a New Home on Orcas Island
OPAL’s proposal to move the famous Edith Macefield “Up House” from Ballard to Orcas has been accepted by the current owners. We are thrilled by this opportunity to help perpetuate Edith Macefield’s legacy and to create another permanently affordable home for the island. Now, we have to raise the funds and move the house. To […]
Submit New Small Works Roster Application
March 2014 – OPAL Community Land Trust maintains a Small Works Roster for projects up to $300,000 in value, such as construction, renovation, remodeling, alteration, repair or improvements of real property. Companies that have previously submitted applications and have been listed on the Small Works Roster should submit a new application to update the information in […]
Houses Arrive From Poulsbo, Seattle
April 2014 – OPAL moved two houses–one from Poulsbo, WA and the other from along the shore of the Duwamish River in Seattle. The Poulsbo house was moved to Seaview Street, and the Duwamish house to Mountain View. These houses will be renovated and then sold at an affordable price to island families.
House Moves to Orcas from Belfair, WA
September 2013 – On September 26, OPAL moved a house from Belfair, WA to Seaview Street. The two-bedroom house is situated on property acquired earlier in the year. This is the first house moved by OPAL from an off-island location.
House Moves to Oberon Lane
April 2013 – On April 11, OPAL moved a 2-bedroom house from its location on Main Street, just east of Washington Federal Bank, to Oberon Lane. In recent years the building served as a vacation rental, an attorney’s office, a hot tub sales store and as the home of Shearwater Kayaks. In its new location, […]