Community Land Trust
In response to this year’s need for social distancing, OPAL will hold its annual benefit Gala online and expand the event to four days.
OPAL Gala2020 will begin at noon on Saturday, June 27, and end at midnight on Tuesday, June 30.
To read the full article from the Islands’ Sounder please click here.
To read the full article from Orcas Issues please click here.
It’s a new world, and your team at OPAL is adapting. We’re learning new ways to stay connected, new “work from home” routines, and are striving to take frequent, deep, full breaths. Speaking of which, how about we each take this moment … one big breath in … one big breath out … thanks for joining me!
A brief update:
Despite the difficulties and challenges, I’m feeling grateful every day.
Stay well, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about OPAL’s activities.
From my home to yours,
Lisa
It is better to light a tiny candle, than to rage at the darkness.
– Chinese Proverb
The COVID-19 virus is changing our lives. Your team at OPAL is doing our best to be part of a supportive response. Here’s a quick update to let you know what we are doing:
OPAL’s role is to help any Orcas islanders who are unable to pay their mortgage or rent. We will work with each person in need to find the right solution. We’ll contact banks or landlords to see if they can delay receipt of payment. If not, we’ll make loans or forgivable payments to their landlord or bank. Our work may be eased a bit if Governor Inslee enacts a statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures based on lack of payment, but eventually rents and mortgages will need to be paid.
Donations to the Orcas Recovery Fund to help people impacted financially by loss of wages or other COVID-19 related impacts can be made through the Community Foundation here.
If you are able to help keep OPAL operating during this time, we welcome your support.
–Your team at OPAL
This is my favorite picture from 2019. I’m with my two-year old granddaughter, Alice. We’re at the edge of the April’s Grove construction site where buildings are taking shape and some of the preserved trees are visible.
This picture has me think about the kids who need a healthy place to live. I believe that we borrow this place from future generations. I want to make it a better place for them. I wonder if that is one of the reasons why you support OPAL too?
While I often look toward the future, I don’t want to rush there too quickly without first expressing my gratitude for all that we accomplished together this past year.
Most of the buzz last year was about April’s Grove, the site for 45 new rental townhomes in Eastsound. In May and June the existence of the County’s new Home Fund adopted by voters in 2018 and your donations pushed the project to full funding.
We started construction in May and by the end of the year we were half way done!
We’ll start accepting applications from people who want to live at April’s Grove in March (there are currently 152 households who have inquired about renting). We expect tenants to move in during the fall.
And as big an accomplishment as construction at April’s Grove is, there are sixty other reasons to feel grateful about last year:
Thank you for helping families in their quest for a home where they can rest and get replenished. By housing our neighbors we are making Orcas Island a healthier and more resilient community.
~ Lisa Byers
Get your dancing feet ready for an eight-hour journey through musical history.
With tracks that range from Frank Sinatra to Billie Eilish, DJ Bruce Pavitt is hosting a dance-a-thon to benefit OPAL Community Land Trust.
“This is something I have wanted to do for years, and I’ve been looking for the appropriate opportunity,” Pavitt said. “As a music fan, I am omnivorous. I appreciate music from every era and genre. This is also a way to get different generations together to enjoy music and learn more about the OPAL project.”
To read the full article in the Islands’ Sounder click here.
From June 29 through July 8, the Orcas Island Community Foundation will be hosting a special online GiveOrcas campaign to benefit OPAL’s April’s Grove project of 45 new rental townhomes.
During this special GiveOrcas campaign, OICF encourages the community to become “Partners in Philanthropy” and help raise funds for affordable housing on Orcas. OICF covers all credit card fees, so 100% of your gift will go directly to support OPAL’s April’s Grove.
Between June 29 and July 8 go to www.GiveOrcas.org and help April’s Grove cross the finish line!
To read more about this campaign in the Islands’ Sounder click here.
To read more about this campaign on Orcas Issues click here.
Thanks to the voters of San Juan County who adopted a new Real Estate Excise Tax last November, a legacy contribution from Bob Henigson, and to creative problem solving by many, including staff members of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, OPAL Community Land Trust will begin construction of the 45-rental townhome project called April’s Grove in May.
The Island Loan Fund, a new program created by OPAL Community Land Trust, makes it possible for islanders who are creditworthy, but not yet eligible for a bank loan to access construction and mortgage financing. The Orcas Island Community Foundation has become the lead investor in the second pool of funding for OPAL’s new program.
To read the full article on The Islands’ Sounder Click Here.
To read the full article on Orcas Issues Click Here.
When OPAL board president Tim Fuller read the article “San Juan islanders look to REET funds as affordable housing savior” in the Journal of the San Juans, he was concerned that readers would get the wrong impression.
OPAL is holding a full rebid including a general contractor and sub-contractors. During the first bidding process, the majority of bids came in over budget, with numerous trades having not submitted bids at all.
To read the full article in the Islands’ Sounder click here.