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OPAL Supports REET Proposition

This week OPAL’s board of trustees submitted a letter to the editor of the Islands’ Sounder in support of Proposition 1.

For the full letter in the Islands’ Sounder click here.

April’s Grove: change for a worthy purpose

OPAL Community Land Trust will soon start to remove trees at the April’s Grove property. Jeanne Beck and Lisa Byers have worked for OPAL for most of its 28 years so they understand taking down trees may be hard to witness. OPAL is striving to keep as many of the existing trees as possible and hopes knowing more about the planning and design process will help ease the transition.

For the full Islands’ Sounder Guest Editorial by Jeanne and Lisa click here.

Join the April’s Grove Mailing List

With activity commencing on the April’s Grove site this fall, we at OPAL have begun compiling a list of email addresses for interested parties who would like updates on all things April’s Grove. If you are interested in receiving email updates about what is happening on the April’s Grove site please contact our Communications Manager, Crystal Mossman at crystal@opalclt.org.

Site Preparation to Begin at April’s Grove

Site preparation will soon begin for April’s Grove, OPAL’s neighborhood of 45 new rental residences on North Beach Road. Located across from Children’s House and the Funhouse Commons, April’s Grove will consist of studios to three-bedroom townhomes. Each dwelling will be home for individuals and families who live or work on Orcas Island and need stable, affordable rental housing.

For the full Islands’ Sounder article click here.

For the full Orcas Issues article click here.

Baileys Make Generous Gift to OPAL and Island Community

Rita and Dr. Stephen Bailey generously donated one quarter of their Kidder Way parcel in a recent sale of the property to OPAL. The Bailey’s gift has not only provided a permanent home for an Orcas High School teacher and his family, but will also allow OPAL to create further affordable housing  on the three remaining lots.

Click here for the Islands’ Sounder story.

Click here for the Orcas Issues story.

Affordable Housing Roundtable with Senator Maria Cantwell

On Friday, August 10, Senator Maria Cantwell held a roundtable discussion at the OPAL conference room to find out more about what affordable housing issues we face in San Juan County. Along with the Senator and her staff, the roundtable was attended by OPAL staff, a few board members and residents, San Juan Community Home Trust, San Juan County’s Affordable Housing Coordinator and local news media.

Topics ranging from who is in need of affordable housing in the San Juans to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit  and the upcoming vote on establishing a San Juan County Home Fund were discussed.

Click here for the Islands Sounder story.

Click here for the Orcas Issues story.

Join Us for ‘A Gala OPAL Evening’

Please reserve Saturday, June 30 on your calendar and plan to attend OPAL’s annual celebration dinner: Housing Touches Everyone: A Gala OPAL Evening. The event will be held at the Orcas Center beginning at 5:30 p.m.

You will enjoy a delicious meal made by Chef Jon Chappelle of Doe Bay Café. Later on, join in the dessert dash and a paddle raise to support permanently affordable housing on Orcas.

Early event sponsors include: Bossy’s Feltworks, Island Market, Islanders Bank, Kevin Ranker and Tina Torri, Rock Island Communications, San Juan Insurance Services, San Juan Propane, Stoltz Kau Architects, Washington Federal Savings Bank.

Tickets are $125 per person. To reserve your place, click here to purchase tickets online or call  360-376-3191.

Come to the OPAL Annual Meeting on April 26

Join us on Thursday, April 26 for OPAL’s annual meeting and potluck at the Episcopal Church Parish Hall in Eastsound.

At 5:00 p.m., enjoy hors d’oeuvres, business meeting, election of renewing trustees, and a presentation on new rental housing and the new Island Loan Fund.

We also will honor retiring Trustee Penny Sharp Sky.

At approximately 6:00 p.m., OPAL will provide soup and bread. Please bring your own place setting. If you care to, bring a potluck item, your choice of salad, dessert or appetizer.

OICF pledges $250k to April’s Grove housing development | $450,000 in pledges still needed by January

Click here to read the entire story by Colleen Armstrong, The Islands’ Sounder.

OPAL Community Land Trust’s 45-unit rental project is inching its way closer to completion thanks to a major donation from the Orcas Island Community Foundation.

After an in-depth assessment and board discussion, the foundation chose to pledge $250,000 to the April’s Grove development on North Beach Road. The money is from a legacy gift left by the late Bob Henigson, and is contingent upon all other funds for the project being in place.

“This is 10 times bigger than anything we have done,” said OICF Director Hilary Canty. “We see housing as a critical need in this community. The OPAL project is shovel ready: they have the land and the plans. They just need the money.”

The land trust also needs to collect $450,000 in pledges and/or donations by Jan. 15, 2018 in order to make the deadline for its Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit application. OPAL has budgeted a total of $1.3 million in funds from private donations, and if the state legislature does not adopt a capital budget, that amount will increase to $3.1 million. The tax credit program requires 50 percent of private donations to be raised or pledged by the application deadline. Donors can give now or have until 2021 to pay. Pledges can be made online at www.opalclt.org, by email opalclt@opalclt.org or by calling 360-376-3191.