Chimacum Commons Project
The Olympic Housing Trust is partnering with Jefferson Land Trust — a local nonprofit land conservation organization focused on protecting farmland, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat — on a profound new project that will blend farming, habitat, and housing. This project will be the first of its kind.
Jefferson Land Trust is the owner of approximately 16 acres of property in Chimacum, Washington. The property has farmland, open space, and creek habitat, and is managed to protect these natural features in perpetuity.
The Land Trust has long considered the potential to dedicate a portion of the property to be permanently used for affordable housing in support of its focus on protecting local farmland and its longstanding commitment to supporting our local farmers, farms, and food system. Now with this new collaborative relationship, both organizations can pursue their respective missions in sync with the needs of the broader community.
The two organizations recognize the need for affordable housing among the food-system workers who help sustain healthy working farmland. At this time, the organizations are exploring how this project may be best designed to meet the housing needs of these integral stewards of our local farmland.