Affordable housing project receives grant
Published 1:30 am Friday, April 10, 2026
An Oak Harbor affordable housing community project, Mulberry Village, just received a whole lot more money.
During a city council meeting Tuesday, Oak Harbor council members unanimously approved a $1 million funding agreement between the city and the Washington State Department of Commerce. The Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program encourages local governments and contracted providers to build affordable housing by helping offset utility infrastructure and development costs, Grants Administrator Wendy Horn said.
The Mulberry Village project construction is already in the works.
“This project is going to create 96 multifamily units,” Horn said.
Its developer completed the pre-application stage with the city, submitted a site plan and applied for all other project financing through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, Horn said.
During council discussion, Peterson questioned how unit pricing levels are regulated. In response, Horn explained that the developer must maintain affordability for a minimum of 25 years and up to 40 years, based on 80% of area median income, which is enforced by the Department of Commerce.
Not a stranger to funding affordable housing initiatives on the island, more recently, Island County gave Opportunity Council and Blue Ridge Cascade funding for the Mulberry Village project as well, Horn noted.
Under the agreement with the Washington State Department of Commerce, the city will act as the grant manager and pass the funds to Opportunity Council as the subrecipient.
