You Spoke. We Listened
Dear Friends,
Over the past seven years, one thing has become abundantly clear: there isn’t just one kind of housing challenge on Lopez Island.
Every conversation we’ve had—with employers, seniors, young families, teachers, healthcare workers, business owners, first responders, and longtime residents—has reinforced the same truth.
Different people need different kinds of housing.
That’s why Housing Lopez has never approached affordable housing with a one-size-fits-all solution.
Recently, during an Q&A session with Chamber of Commerce members someone asked a thoughtful question: “That’s wonderful, but what about people who earn too much to qualify for Village North? We need housing for working families, too.”
The answer is: we agree.
It’s worth noting that many of the families already living at Village North are working. They are caregivers, service workers, tradespeople, nonprofit staff, and others whose incomes fall within the program’s eligibility guidelines.
Affordable housing isn’t only for people who are unemployed. It serves many of the people who keep our island running day to day.
At the same time, we also recognize that there are many working households who earn too much to qualify for Village North but still cannot afford the island’s housing market. That’s why, after years of listening to our community, Housing Lopez has intentionally developed housing that serves different parts of our community.
FishBay Cottages
Built for households earning approximately 60%–115% of Area Median Income (AMI) and designed to support many of the essential workers who keep Lopez running.
Village North - Phase 1
Village North - Phase 2
Village North Phase 2 is still being planned but according to the needs identified in our recent survey, it is shaping up to likely serve households earning up to approximately 115% of AMI—people who often earn too much to qualify for deeply subsidized housing, but still cannot afford today’s housing market on the island.
This isn’t a shift in direction, it’s simply the next step in a plan that has always been guided by community input.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing more about what we’ve learned, why Phase 2 matters, and how this next neighborhood can help keep working families, healthcare professionals, teachers, tradespeople, and other island workers living in the community they serve.
Because affordable housing isn’t about buildings. It’s about making sure the people who make Lopez Lopez can continue to call it home.
