PORT HADLOCK — Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County has been awarded $2.5 million in state and federal grants for infrastructure on its Mason Street project.
Groundbreaking for the project, which is planned to bring 138 units of permanently affordable housing to Port Hadlock, is scheduled for September.
The grants, awarded over the last few weeks, include $1 million from a state Department of Commerce Connecting Housing to Infrastructure (CHIP) grant and a $1.5 million federal appropriation announced Feb. 10 by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. The appropriation is labeled “Jefferson County Workforce Housing” on Cantwell’s 2026 appropriations list, according to a Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County news release.
“The infrastructure is one of the most costly parts of construction,” Director of Communications Ellen Michael Caldwell said.
Infrastructure work will include underground and site preparation elements necessary before vertical construction to begin, Caldwell said. The federal appropriation, layered on top of the CHIP award, helps the organization keep the project on schedule as it works toward the groundbreaking, they added.
The project will include units for people making as much as 120 percent to 150 percent of area median income (AMI). The details are still being sorted out, Caldwell said.
“We need to answer the need for affordable housing across the income spectrum,” Caldwell said.
The project will include roughly 57-60 units for people making over 80 percent of AMI, Caldwell said. The remaining homes will be earmarked for households earning 80 percent of AMI and less, including some in the 30 percent to 40 percent range.
This mixed-income approach is a first for Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County (HHEJC), which has historically served households that earn between 30 percent and 80 percent of AMI.
According to HHEJC’s 2025 criteria outlining maximum income by household size, a one-person household could make a maximum of $55,050, a two-person household could make up to $62,900, and a five-person household could make up to $84,900 and still qualify under certain program thresholds.
New AMI figures are expected this spring, Caldwell said.
Caldwell emphasized that income eligibility is not always straightforward and encouraged residents not to rule themselves out.
“Don’t select yourself out of the opportunity based on (slightly exceeding maximum income),” Caldwell said. “If you are a household of two and you make $64,000 or $65,000, there may be things in your income considerations that our program would adjust so that you actually do fall into a qualification. So our thing is, if you feel like you’re close, apply.”
Information and applications for the HHEJC home ownership program are available at habitatejc.org/homes.
Beyond the Mason Street infrastructure grants, HHEJC recently was awarded $2.3 million from a state commerce Housing Trust Fund Program for construction at its 14-home Landes Terrace neighborhood.
While HHEJC has been focusing on building what it calls neighborhoods, it was awarded $495,000 from the Housing Trust Fund Program to go partially toward construction for some of its traditional single-family homes. Some of that money also is earmarked for a future development, Caldwell said.
“We just had the dedication for the first three homes of that six-home (Cliff Street Cottages) neighborhood a couple weekends ago,” Caldwell said. “Then we’ll be selling the remaining three of those homes over the next two months.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
