Ground broken for Habitat home in Oak Harbor
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Affordable home ownership is available to another Oak Harbor family through Habitat for Humanity Island County.
On July 23, a groundbreaking ceremony took place to celebrate the construction of the Reyes-Woods family’s soon-to-be new home in the Marin Woods neighborhood. Volunteers, donors, sponsors, board members and community supporters gathered to celebrate the start of construction before turning ceremonial shovels of dirt, according to a release.
There are five people in the Reyes-Woods family. The finished home will include four bedrooms and one-and-a-half bathrooms, similar to a recent build in the same neighborhood, Megan McCollum, the group’s resource development manager, said.
The family will purchase the home upon completion, which McCollum added could take about a year. Construction is powered by volunteers.
Habitat homeowners purchase their homes through an affordable mortgage and help build them by completing sweat-equity hours alongside volunteers. The homes are intended to provide long-term affordable homeownership opportunities for working families.
“This groundbreaking represented so much more than the start of construction,” CEO Orin Kolaitis said in the release. “It marked the beginning of the Reyes-Woods family’s homeownership journey and reflected what is possible when our community comes together to invest in affordable housing.”
According to McCollum, Habitat for Humanity of Island County has completed 60 homes since its founding, including 42 in Oak Harbor. The organization continues to build homes in Oak Harbor while also partnering with other affordable housing projects elsewhere on Whidbey Island.
