Island County approves $1 million to help buy Coupeville housing site
Island County’s $1 million deal could turn an eight-acre Coupeville parcel into 20 to 80 affordable homes, depending on the town’s zoning decision.
Island County commissioners approved a $1 million contract April 28 to help Island Roots Housing buy an eight-acre parcel at 501 Northeast Third Street in Coupeville, a move that could decide whether the site becomes a small housing project or one of the town’s largest affordable neighborhoods.
The land sits near WhidbeyHealth and Regency Coupeville and is owned by Dennis Bright. Its assessed value is just under $1 million, putting the county’s public investment almost exactly in line with the property’s tax value. County officials said the money comes from the affordable-housing sales tax voters approved in 2022, a 0.1% levy that added 10 cents to a $100 purchase and was expected to generate about $1.1 million a year.
For Coupeville, the bigger question is not just the land sale. It is how many homes the site can actually hold. Under current zoning, the parcel could support about 20 homes. If Coupeville’s comprehensive-plan update leads to a higher-density upzone, Island Roots says it would build to that standard, opening the door to roughly 80 units. Town Council would have the final say on any zoning change.
That range matters because Coupeville’s housing supply is already tight. The town’s 2025 comprehensive-plan update said Coupeville had an estimated 1,047 housing units, up 154 from 2010, and the draft plan calls for enough development capacity to support housing choices, redevelopment and infill over the next 20 years. On a practical level, the county’s $1 million purchase can mean either a modest addition or a much more consequential workforce-housing project, depending on the zoning outcome now in front of town officials.
Rose Hughes, Island Roots Housing’s managing director, has framed the Coupeville proposal as homelessness prevention tied to rising rents, limited living-wage jobs and the shortage of homes that fit local households. The Langley-based nonprofit is still early in its expansion, but its first project, Generations Place, is planned for 14 affordable two- and three-bedroom apartments for working families earning up to 80% and 60% of area median income, including teachers and healthcare workers.
The county’s housing fund has grown enough to support projects like this. Officials said in 2025 that the fund held about $4 million, and they later clarified that the tax can be used not only for new construction but also to acquire and rehabilitate existing housing. County reports have said projects funded over the past four years could provide more than 250 units. If the Coupeville deal advances as planned, construction would begin in June 2029 and finish in December 2030, putting a long timeline on a project that could eventually reshape one of the most important housing sites in central Island County.
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