Latest House Arrives from Lake Union OPAL’s eleventh “recycled house” arrived on island August 17th. Previously, it was located on Lake Union in Seattle, where Peter Erickson and Brigitte Bertschi raised their family. After learning about OPAL’s history of relocating houses, they decided to donate their much-loved home, along with funding to help pay for […]
Picnic & Rally — Let’s Hear It for Affordable Housing!
Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib and Sen. Kevin Ranker Address OPAL Rally Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib and Senator Kevin Ranker spoke in support of affordable housing at the OPAL Rally at the Village Green on July 12th. “OPAL, for years, has been the driving force in making sure that we maintain the diversity in our community,” […]
Creating Affordable Housing — 2017 Proposed Legislation
Increase the chances for getting new rental housing on Orcas Island by asking your Washington State legislators to vote for policies that help create affordable housing. Prohibit income discrimination. Currently, in Washington State, a landlord may refuse to rent to someone who uses a housing voucher to pay for rent. Learn more and send an […]
OPAL Recaps Busy Year, Honors Lisa Byers at 2016 Annual Meeting
Following a recap of OPAL Community Land Trust’s activities in 2015 and the election and recognition of new and retiring trustees, a highlight of OPAL’s 26th annual meeting on April 26 was the surprise celebration of Lisa Byers’ 20 years of leadership as executive director.. “Lisa became executive director of OPAL in 1996,” said co-founder […]
Please Join Us … OPAL 2016 Annual Meeting
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 […]