Dundee Hill Project
Project Update: Dundee Hill was awarded grants from the Housing Trust Fund and CHIP programs from the State of Washington. With the project nearing full funding, this is your chance to bring a green-built affordable housing project to life!
You can give directly to the Dundee Hill project through our campaign page here.
Concept art illustration by Kristina Stimson
Olympic Housing Trust (OHT) is building Dundee Hill Community Homes, a sustainably designed, permanently affordable housing project in Port Townsend, WA. Available to residents of Jefferson and Clallam County, the Dundee Hill project will offer five town homes available for purchase and built with green building practices. This innovative layout clusters the 2 two-bedroom and 3 three-bedroom homes while holding onto native plant buffers and the neighborhood's beautiful community garden.
The homes will be sold to income-qualified households who have lived in the area for at least one year and are able to secure a home loan, among other qualifications. This project, along with all of Olympic Housing Trust’s, utilizes the community land trust model where OHT will develop and sell the subsidized homes to eligible households, but still maintain ownership of the underlying land through a 99-year ground lease agreement.
Please visit our ‘About’ page to learn more about the details of this transformative model.
A local supporter donated this property to Olympic Housing Trust with the goal of supporting permanently affordable housing and strengthening local food security. Our team has worked with the donor to craft a vision for this property that includes the five townhouse units, as well as a community garden. The entire property will be stewarded by Olympic Housing Trust with the homeowners owning the homes and local community members managing the garden, with support from the new homeowners.
Local Media Coverage
Our capital campaign has raised over $1,455,000 in committed and secured contributions.
We are nearly there but not there yet. As of January 2024, we have just $365,000 to raise! We are eager to start building once we’re fully funded.
This is your chance to be part of Jefferson County’s first community land trust housing project.
You can give directly to the Dundee Hill project through our campaign page here.
Are you interested in owning one of the homes in the Dundee Hill project?
Please fill out this survey!
The home buyer application period is not yet open, but this survey will help us understand the needs and situations of potential future homeowners.
Land donor Pete Von Christierson, center, celebrating the property transfer
Generous support from these business sponsors:
Presentation at Dundee Hill by Kellen Lynch, Outreach and Development Manager
DOWNLOAD OUR DUNDEE HILL PROJECT BRIEF
PROJECT GOALS
Offer attractive homeownership opportunities to five households of Jefferson and Clallam County
Build a stand-out affordable housing project with a focus on green building design and open space
Emphasize principles of urban infill, public private partnerships, walkability, and friendly neighborhoods
Dundee Hill is an important project because the access to permanent affordable housing in Jefferson and Clallam County is minimal for most people in the community. As a community land trust, our work will be a distinctive counterpoint to other nonprofit housing providers. And as a membership based organization whose Board of Trustees is composed of members, government workers, and low-income individuals we are pleased to set ourselves apart in our efforts to meet the overall need of this county.
DESIGN GOALS
We aspire to combine functional, aesthetic, environmental, climate-aware, and neighborly designs into the Dundee Hill project, including:
Rooftop solar and enhanced energy efficiency
Solar PV installation and passive south-facing orientation and high efficiency appliances
Urban infill - optimize housing density within the city with
Compact footprints and common walls
Low-impact development standards
Drought-resistant, regenerative landscaping with existing native species
Long-lasting building construction
Robust moisture prevention and rot resistant materials
Neighborhood friendly design
Emphasis on sharing the existing garden and open space for homeowners and community garden members alike
Key Milestones
Submit the building permit with City - Fall 2023
Complete private and public campaign funding - Fall 2024
Begin construction - 2025
Release home ownership application - 2025
Confirm new homeowners - 2025
Complete construction - 2026
Sell homes to new homeowners - 2026