Dundee Hill Project

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

Are you interested in owning one of the homes in the Dundee Hill project?
Please fill out this interest form to get on our list!

The following application process dates, subject to change, are as follows:

  • Homebuyer Screening Forms will be released in January 2026

  • Applicants who have completed the Homebuyer Screening Form and meet minimum eligibility will be randomized with the top 15 of this randomized pool being randomly selected to move forward.

  • In March, the randomly selected group will be sent Homebuyer Applications

  • OHT will randomize the completed Homebuyer Applications and randomly select at least five to continue the purchase process.

    Requirements for applicant eligibility includes, but are not limited to the following:

    • applicant must have lived in Jefferson or Clallam County for the year prior

    • earn at or below 80% area median income (AMI) of Jefferson County

    • be able to afford all housing expenses without being cost burdened, including mortgage payments

    • be a first-time home buyer, or not have owned a house in the past 3 years (as defined by HUD)

    • demonstrate strong enough credit to qualify for a home mortgage loan

    • complete a HUD-certified homebuyer education course

Do you want to see projects like Dundee Hill flourish throughout our region?
Gifts of all kinds directly enable the good work to continue.
You can donate directly here or learn about the many other ways to support our work.

Groundbreaking event, August 8 2025, with members of our community

Land donor Pete Von Christierson, center, celebrating the property transfer

Generous support from these business sponsors:

Presentation at Dundee Hill by Kellen Lynch, Director of Development and Communications

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 permitting with City - Fall 2023

  • Private and public campaign funding - Fall 2024

  • Begin construction - Summer 2025

  • Release home ownership application - Winter 2026

  • Confirm new homeowners - Spring 2026

  • Complete construction - Fall 2026

  • Sell homes to new homeowners - Fall 2026

 

Keep an eye out for updates on this page, or by signing up for our newsletter below!