Whatcom Housing Alliance

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Whatcom Housing Alliance Creating opportunities for more diverse housing choices in all neighborhoods, and contributing toward equitable, prosperous, and healthy communities.

10/06/2026

HOUSING WEEK 2026 Ā· OCT 13ā€“16

Sixteen events. These five cover the most ground:

ā€¢ Lighthouse Mission tour Ā· Tue 10/13
ā€¢ City of Bellingham housing data, live Ā· Wed 10/14
ā€¢ Cohousing, co-living and shared housing with Harbor & Hill Ā· Wed 10/14 (online)
ā€¢ ADU lessons in Blaine Ā· Wed 10/14
ā€¢ Sustainability and the CLT model with Kulshan Ā· Thu 10/15

No housing at all. Renting. Sharing walls. Aging in a house that stopped fitting. Ownership that stays affordable. Building in the backyard. And the system around all of it.

That's the whole ladder in one week, and you don't need to work in housing to show up and ask a question.

Every event is free. Donations are welcome and go straight into keeping this work going.

Link in bio to register.

10/06/2026

Housing isn't one problem. It's a ladder, and every rung has its own version of stuck.

HOUSING WEEK 2026 Ā· OCT 13ā€“16

Sixteen events. These five cover the most ground:

ā€¢ Lighthouse Mission tour Ā· Tue 10/13
ā€¢ City of Bellingham housing data, live Ā· Wed 10/14
ā€¢ Cohousing, co-living and shared housing with Harbor & Hill Ā· Wed 10/14 (online)
ā€¢ ADU lessons in Blaine Ā· Wed 10/14
ā€¢ Sustainability and the CLT model with Kulshan Ā· Thu 10/15

No housing at all. Renting. Sharing walls. Aging in a house that stopped fitting. Ownership that stays affordable. Building in the backyard. And the system around all of it.

That's the whole ladder in one week, and you don't need to work in housing to show up and ask a question.

Every event is free. Donations are welcome and go straight into keeping this work going.

Link to RSVP: https://whatcomhousingalliance.org/projects/housing-week-2026/

09/23/2026

Four days. Sixteen events. One question: where are people going to live? šŸ”

Whatcom Housing Week is October 13-16. Renters, homeowners, landlords, builders: housing touches all of us, and this is the week to see how it works here, from the people building it, planning it, and living in it.

What's on the lineup:
šŸš¶ Middle housing walking tour in the Lettered Streets
šŸŒ± Net-zero community land trust site tour
šŸ  Tiny home village open house
āš–ļø Tenant law, state legislation, and City housing data
šŸ¤ Cohousing, co-living, and home sharing
šŸ‘µ Housing for older adults
šŸ§­ Whatcom County's 5-year homeless housing plan

In person and online, open to everyone. Themed breakdowns are coming soon, so follow along to find your events.

Register here: https://whatcomhousingalliance.org/projects/housing-week-2026/

09/10/2026

17 events. Four days. Everyone with a stake in whether housing gets built here, finally in the same rooms. Register today, so you can be there too.

HOUSING WEEK 2026 Ā· OCT 13ā€“16

TUE 10/13
ā€¢ Cohousing at 4th Corner Commons (4th Corner Commons)
ā€¢ North Haven tiny home village tour
ā€¢ Housing for older adults (Chuckanut Health Foundation)
ā€¢ Lighthouse Mission tour (Lighthouse Mission Ministries)
ā€¢ Tenant law and advocacy

WED 10/14
ā€¢ City of Bellingham community summit
ā€¢ Cohousing, co-living and shared housing
ā€¢ Resolving housing conflicts (WDRC)
ā€¢ Middle housing walking tour
ā€¢ Home share happy hour
ā€¢ ADU lessons in Blaine (Blaine Washington)

THU 10/15
ā€¢ Washington's changing housing laws (City of Bellingham Washington)
ā€¢ West Coast Homes tour (West Coast Homes)
ā€¢ Sustainability and the CLT model (Kulshan Community Land Trust)

FRI 10/16
ā€¢ The county's 5-year homeless housing plan
ā€¢ West Coast Homes Tour

Tours, panels, workshops, and a few conversations that don't usually happen in public. Renters, homeowners, builders, planners, lenders, neighbors. You do not need to work in housing to show up and ask a question.

Every event is free. Donations are welcome and go straight into keeping this work going.

Link in bio to register. Register today.

08/31/2026

Every Bellingham project runs into something, and right now there's nowhere to take it.

In coordination with the Mayor's Office, Planning and Public Works, the Whatcom Housing Alliance built the "Housing Delivery Improvement Program." And we're going to pilot it this fall to see if we can improve communication between our development community and the City.

The only way we're going to see if we can make progress is if you share what you know!

Here's how it works. You get a form so we can track. You tell us what happened on a real project: what happened, what you expected, what actually happened, what it cost or delayed. Every submission gets screened.

The ones with a broader pattern go to City staff, who respond with their own context before anything gets discussed, we discuss openly to create education for everyone and we track what comes of it.

You know what happens on the ground. Staff know why a requirement exists in the first place. This is how those meet and learn from each other.

Not an appeals process. Not a complaint line.

Builders, designers, engineers, lenders, nonprofit developers: if you've got a project worth learning from, I want to hear about it.

Reach out!

08/17/2026

Today is the last day to register for the 2026 Middle Housing Design Competition! Head to our website and register now. It closes at 11:59pm. Designs are not due until October 1st. The winners are announced during Housing Week 2026 at the Middle Housing Design Competition Happy Hour! Award Money goes to the Jury Award and the People's Choice Award.

Share with the design community!

08/07/2026

Laurel Forest, @ Forest and Laurel Streets. 56 one-bedroom apartments for adults 55+, built by the Opportunity Council, opened 2024.

Two rent tiers: $540/month at 30% AMI, $900/month at 50% AMI. Market rate for a one-bedroom in Bellingham runs closer to $1,500.
Both wait lists are currently at capacity.

How it was built: Low-Income Housing Tax Credits covered 58% of construction costs. LIHTC is federal, capped nationally, allocated to states, and awarded here by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission through one competitive round a year. The rest came from state and local sources, including the voter-approved Bellingham Home Fund, plus a mortgage sized to what capped rents can carry.

Why the structure exists: new construction runs roughly $400,000 per unit. Rents here are set against income, not the market. Public funding fills that gap, up front, before anyone moves in.

Why seniors: older adults on fixed incomes are among the fastest-growing groups experiencing homelessness, locally and nationally. Bellingham has multiple senior projects in the pipeline, including Mercy Housing's 74-unit Holly Senior Housing in Old Town and Phase 2 of Cedar Commons, which adds 65 senior units.

The scale: Whatcom County is projected to need ~35,000 new homes by 2044, about 22,000 of them affordable. Bellingham's share is over 10,000.

šŸ” The Middle Housing Design Competition is Now Open!We're excited to announce that Whatcom Housing Alliance's Middle Hou...
07/01/2026

šŸ” The Middle Housing Design Competition is Now Open!

We're excited to announce that Whatcom Housing Alliance's Middle Housing Design Competition is officially accepting registrations until August 17th.

This is an opportunity for architects, designers, students, and creative thinkers to help reimagine housing options in our community and showcase the potential of middle housing throughout Whatcom County.

Have an innovative design idea? Now's your chance to bring it to life and contribute to the conversation about creating more diverse, attainable housing options for all neighborhoods.

Scroll to check out past Middle Housing Design Competition winners!

Register and learn more here: https://whatcomhousingalliance.org/middle-housing-design-competition-2/

06/23/2026

Last week Bellingham Mayor released an Executive Order on Economic Development.

Mayor Lundā€™s new Economic Development Executive Order is focused on jobs, business growth, downtown vitality, and economic opportunity.

It also highlights an important connection: housing and economic development depend on each other.

Businesses need workers. Workers need homes. And new homes need clear processes, infrastructure, financing, incentives, and partners who can help good projects move forward.

That is why this order matters from a housing perspective too. Efforts to support downtown and waterfront revitalization, review incentives like MFTE, reduce barriers, and make City processes easier to navigate can all help shape how Bellingham responds to both economic and housing needs.

In a housing crisis, vacant and underused spaces, workforce housing, and development feasibility should be part of the same conversation.

We encourage community members to review the full Executive Order and think about how these tools can help support a more vibrant, affordable, and livable Bellingham.

Link in bio.

Whatcom County is projected to add more than 65,000 people over the next 20 years.That means we need a real plan for whe...
06/02/2026

Whatcom County is projected to add more than 65,000 people over the next 20 years.

That means we need a real plan for where people will live.

The Comprehensive Plan is one of the biggest tools local governments use to shape growth, housing, jobs, transportation, infrastructure, farmland, public services, and the environment.

For WHA, the housing question is central: Can we grow in a way that gives people more choices, supports affordability, and allows the next generation to build a life here?

Growth is coming. The choice is whether we plan for it well.

>> WHA encourages community members to stay engaged, follow the Comprehensive Plan process, and share specific, constructive ideas for how Whatcom County can meet this moment. Full article linked in bio.

Address

1701 Ellis Street STE 221
Bellingham, WA
98225

Telephone

+13606477093

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