Clallam County staff to advance $1 million contingent commitment for Sequim permanent supportive housing project

Clallam County staff presented a resolution at the board's Oct. 6 work session proposing a $1 million contingent commitment from the county's Affordable Housing Sales & Use Tax Fund to support New Sunbelt Apartments, a Sequim redevelopment project that would provide 36 permanent supportive one‑bedroom units.

The county heard from Sharon (identified in the meeting as the project presenter) and representatives of the project's sponsor. They said the proposal would build a two‑story apartment with 36 one‑bedroom units (roughly 503 square feet each, about 25,000 square feet total). The plan calls for the existing 16 occupied units on the site to remain in operation during construction and for those residents to move into the new building when the replacement structure is completed. The project is targeted to tenants at 30 percent of area median income (roughly $19,000 annual income for a single person) and to people who are chronically homeless or have disabling conditions.

Project cost estimates presented at the meeting put total development at roughly $12 million. The presenter said the applicant is applying for state Housing Trust Fund and other competitive grants (the Commerce/Housing Trust Fund round closes mid‑October) and intends to secure those awards before county funds would be spent. The resolution on the commissioners' table would make a $1 million allocation contingent on full outside funding and other standard contingencies laid out in county grant or contract documents.

Commissioners asked staff and the presenter for clarifications about deed restrictions and long‑term use: staff said the site currently carries restrictive use conditions from prior housing authority grants and that the applicant plans to consolidate restrictions into a single permanent restriction that would require the property to be used for permanent supportive housing. Commissioners also pressed for detail on operations and support services; the presenter said the sponsor provides 24‑hour onsite staffing (shift coverage), coordinates referrals to local providers including the housing authority, OPCC and PBH, and operates a thrift store that supplies start‑up furnishings for new tenants.

After discussion, the board indicated it will place the resolution on the next regular meeting agenda for formal consideration. The board did not take a final funding vote at the work session.

If the board approves the resolution at a future meeting, it would be structured as a contingent allocation: county funds would be committed only after the project demonstrates full funding from the state and other sources specified in the resolution.