Habitat working on neighborhood projects

Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 13, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County is moving on to projects with a bigger footprint.

The organization, which is celebrating its 35th year, normally builds houses one at a time with chosen families.

Right now, the organization is planning two multi-home developments: The Lyon’s Landing will have 45 single-family homes in Carlsborg while Sequim Avenue will be 48 homes.

CEO Colleen Robinson told members of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce about those projects and more on Wednesday during the chamber’s monthly meeting at the Red Lion Hotel.

Decades of data from building Habitat homes show the positive impacts of owning a home and having a stable place to live, Robinson said.

“Children who grow up in Habitat homes are more likely to graduate high school, go to college and become homeowners themselves,” she said. “Owning a home is breaking the cycle of poverty for families and creating generational wealth.”

In addition to the two multi-home housing developments which will provide full neighborhoods of homes constructed at the same time, Lyon’s Landing will have homes that are different than other Habitat homes.

Normally, to be eligible for a Habitat home, an applicant must make 80 percent or below of the area median income (AMI). For the Lyon’s Landing homes, the Clallam County Habitat affiliate has received a waiver from Habitat International which will allow people making up to 125 percent of AMI to apply for homes.

“We’re trying to help some of those working families, workforce housing,” Robinson said. “They make a little too much to qualify for subsidies but not enough to buy that $600,000 home.”

Robinson’s presentation included information on where Habitat receives its funding. In the organization’s 2025 annual report, available at tinyurl.com/PDN-Habitat-Report, the organization’s top three funding sources are estate giving/trustee ($35,000 or 24.5 percent), donor-advised fund ($22,725 or 15.9 percent) and individual donor ($15,753 or 11 percent).

With the larger projects Habitat is taking on and the way things are changing, it’s receiving more government funding, Robinson said.

“We are applying for grants all the time,” she said.

One such grant came from the city of Port Angeles which awarded $150,000 for Habitat’s Critical Repair Program, which aims to repair homes and allow aging in place.

“We need to continue to preserve our aging housing stock,” Robinson said. “Allowing seniors to safely age in their homes with some minor modifications is a win-win. If we wait until a house is falling down and when the family passes or moves on, we have to tear it down and fill the landfill. We’re causing a lot more of a bigger footprint than we need to.”

One recent repair made through the program was to a woman’s deck. When Habitat was called, the deck was not safe to walk on. Through the program, Habitat can make modifications to lighting, grab bars and railings; repair roofs and siding; and help with home preservation through painting, landscaping and exterior cleanup, according to a pamphlet provided during the chamber lunch.

To be eligible for the program, there must be a need for help, the home must be occupied, all taxes and homeowners insurance must be current, and the homeowner must be willing to partner with Habitat Clallam.

During her presentation, Robinson also spoke about the 2025 sales and impact from Habitat Clallam’s two stores located at 728 E. Front St. in Port Angeles and at 154 W. Washington St. in Sequim.

In 2025, there were 14,472 transactions with an average sale of $44.84. Total income was $585,706.96. There were 2,292 donation drop-offs, and 737 donations were picked up. By donating items to the stores, the community kept 586 tons out of the landfill.

The Habitat stores can accept couches and loveseats, lighting, hutches and sideboards, dining tables and chairs, dressers, headboards and nightstands. The best way to donate an item is to take a photo of it and email it to customerservice@habitatclallam.org to see if Habitat can take and resell the item.

Robinson also provided facts about the housing crisis in Washington state.

“Right now, 1 in 7 families in Washington state are paying more than 50 percent of their household income on housing,” Robinson said. “This leaves families in a situation where they have to choose between food, medicines and other things. When you’re paying that much for housing, something else has to be left off the budget.”

In one study, Washington state ranked fourth as the least affordable state for housing behind Hawaii, California and Massachusetts, Robinson said.

“We’re very grateful to the city of Port Angeles in their forward thinking to clear a path for affordable housing,” she said.

The city helps in many ways, including waiving permit fees and allowing fee-in-lieu of sidewalks, she said.

For more information, call 360-417-7543 or email info@habitatclallam.org.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.