Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County has reached the next phase of its Mason Street Development neighborhood for “permanently affordable” housing in Port Hadlock.

Members of East Jefferson Habitat are inviting stakeholders and other community members to attend a 2 p.m. informational meeting on Thurs., May 30, at 231 Mason St. in Port Hadlock. East Jefferson Habitat Executive Director Jamie Maciejewski provided some details to The Leader.

“We’re moving on to Phase Two,” Maciejewski said. “Our board of directors has authorized us to commit to preparing permits for the housing infrastructure. By addressing specific details of the buildings’ designs and engineering, we intend to demonstrate we’re performing due diligence.”

Maciejewski noted that Phase 1 of the project began in August of 2023. She estimated that Phase 2 would require approximately a year and roughly $1.2 million to be completed. This stage of development is designated for the pre-construction work of building design and permitting, which is expected to span 2024-25. Maciejewski predicted construction would likely begin near the start of 2026, with the first houses due to be completed as early as 2027.

Maciejewski said that Phase 2 would address a number of the so-called “horizontal” civil engineering issues for the residential properties that had already been considered for the neighborhood’s streets during Phase 1 including its water and sewer lines.

According to Maciejewski, the Seattle-based architectural firm Schemata Workshop will be determining specifics of the buildings’ footprints, positioning and parking areas, along with their interior layouts. She said that because the firm needs to make those determinations for a development of more than a hundred houses at once, she reasoned that the job would have exceeded the capacity of most of the architectural firms within the county.

Habitat has retained the Parametrix construction engineering company as its civil engineer, and Cap Ex as its development consultant.

By 2026, Maciejewski anticipates the start of construction on the infrastructure that will be “shared by everybody,” from sidewalks and parking spaces to underground utilities such as power, water and stormwater systems. She said she expects the first houses to be completed in 2027 are the neighborhood’s duplexes and two-story townhouses, in part because their owners are due to be lined up sooner.

From there, Maciejewski believes housing construction could continue for as many as the following three years, with the neighborhood’s rental properties likely to be the last to be fully occupied, since Habitat still needs to find a partner to serve as the landlord to those residents. Serving as landlords is not something Habitat can do itself.

Maciejewski reiterated that part of the plan for the Mason Street Development is for its affordable housing to include a mix of residents, some of whom might not normally qualify for Habitat housing, due to their income levels being higher than the typical range, but she conceded that further details on how one might apply to possibly become a resident are likely a year off, at least.

In the meantime, Maciejewski invited community members with other questions to join their May 30 Mason Street meeting, which is slated to have representatives of Schemata, and state Rep. Steve Tharinger, among those on hand to answer questions.