BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A contractor has been chosen to build the tiny home village in north Bellingham.
Bellingham City Council approved the contract bid from Summit Construction to build the North Haven tiny home village’s amenities. The construction company will be responsible for building utilities into the area while nonprofit HomesNOW! Not Later is responsible for the houses themselves.
The city purchased the Northwest Avenue parcel of land earlier this year as a place to hold a more permanent tiny home village.
Summit Construction has built a variety of buildings in Whatcom County including the Lightcatcher Museum, Village Books and Cascadia Elementary School. Their bid was chosen as it was the cheapest bid to come in according to Council member Hollie Huthman.
Council member Michael Lilliquist came up with the rough estimate that it will cost about $60,000 to build each tiny home between the contract and the land purchase.
“Some of those costs we recover, retain the land. That’s good value even after the tiny home leaves in many cases,” Lilliquist said. “It’s worth it; $60,000 is relatively cheap.”
Summit Construction contractor David Ebenal said he expects to start construction in January. In an email, he added that pending electrical gear and light pole work on the project—which take a long time to go through approval—Ebenal expects the project to only take a few months weather permitting.
HomesNOW! chairman Doug Gustafson confirmed to My Bellingham Now that they will run the North Haven village upon completion. They currently operate two other tiny home villages in Bellingham, namely Unity Village in Fairhaven and Swift Haven in the Puget neighborhood. Both villages were under threat of removal, but Gustafson said that the nonprofit renewed their leases for both lands.
Gustafson said in an email that they are waiting to find an insurance company that will cover their construction of the tiny homes at the former WECU parking lot on Meridian Street.
