Oak Harbor accepts $1 million state grant to help fund 96‑unit Mulberry Village affordable housing project

Oak Harbor — The City Council on April 7 authorized acceptance of a $1 million Connecting Housing to Infrastructure (CHIP) grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to support infrastructure for the Mulberry Village affordable housing project.

Grants Administrator Wendy Horn told council that the CHIP award will offset the project’s water, sewer and storm utility improvements. Opportunity Council asked the city to apply on its behalf because only governments may apply for this funding; Opportunity Council will be the subrecipient and Blue Ridge Cascade (formerly Shelter Resources) is the project partner.

Wendy Horn said the project as proposed would create 96 multi‑family units with a mix of unit sizes and long‑term affordability commitments: a manager’s unit, a community building with services, and an affordability period required by the Department of Commerce of between 25 and 40 years depending on other financing. The developer has submitted a site plan to the city and applied to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission for tax‑credit and bond financing. Horn said the city’s legal team reviewed the Commerce grant agreement and recommended council authorization to sign the contract.

Council asked who enforces rent and income targeting; Horn said the Department of Commerce monitors compliance under the grant agreement and the project carries recorded affordability covenants. Councilmember Peterson confirmed the development includes 96 units and asked about income bands in the grant documents; staff said the Commerce contract sets unit counts and AMI bands that the developer must follow.

Councilmember Peterson moved to approve acceptance of the grant and to authorize the mayor to sign contract number 26‑96330‑119; the motion passed unanimously.

What this means: The $1 million will be passed to Opportunity Council as subrecipient to support utility and system development charges for Mulberry Village. The project remains subject to site‑plan review and additional project financing approvals from the state housing finance agency.