Oak Harbor Council Approves $1 Million for 96-Unit Affordable Housing Project

Ninety-six below-market-rate apartments moved closer to reality on Whidbey Island after Oak Harbor's city council unanimously approved a $1 million grant agreement with the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The funding flows through the state's Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program, known as CHIP, which offsets utility infrastructure and development costs that can stall affordable housing projects before a single unit is built. Under the agreement, Oak Harbor will serve as grant manager, channeling the funds to Opportunity Council as the designated subrecipient for the Mulberry Village development.

City grants administrator Wendy Horn presented the agreement to the council and described the project's scope plainly: "This project is going to create 96 multifamily units."

The developer has already completed pre-application steps, submitted a site plan, and applied for additional financing through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Blue Ridge Cascade and Opportunity Council, both established partners in Whidbey Island housing efforts, have provided local funding and support alongside Island County.

Council members pressed Horn on how affordability would be enforced once the project is occupied. She explained that the Department of Commerce requires the developer to maintain affordability for a minimum of 25 years and potentially up to 40, with rents typically capped at 80 percent of area median income. Commerce enforces that requirement directly as a condition of the CHIP funding agreement, not through the city.

The unanimous vote cleared a key administrative threshold: designating Oak Harbor as grant manager allows state dollars to flow to the developer, a step required before a full construction financing package can be assembled. Whether Mulberry Village breaks ground on schedule will depend on the outcome of the Housing Finance Commission application and the finalization of remaining funding, but the council's approval signals that local government, Island County, and the state are aligned behind the project.