Archbishop blesses 29-units of farmworker housing

Skagit Valley project opened in September offers farmworker families ‘a dignified place to live’

MOUNT VERNON
BY ARMANDO MACHADO

Archbishop Alex J. Brunett led a dedication and blessing ceremony of a new archdiocesan housing complex for farmworkers and their families in Skagit County Friday, April 25.

Villa Santa Maria, located at 3700 E. College Way in Mount Vernon, is one of eight farmworker housing projects managed by the Archdiocesan Housing Authority.  Archbishop Alex J. Brunett blessed the facility, which opened last September, on Friday April 25.  The project provides 29 residential units for farmworker families bringing the total number of resident units to 249.  A ninth project is under development. All photos: Armando Machado

“We are committed to providing affordable housing for people in need,” Archbishop Brunett said during the event at the Villa Santa Maria housing site. Several dozen people attended the ceremony conducted in English and Spanish.  

Alberto Beltran, a resident at the Villa Santa Maria, offered his remarks “on behalf of all the residents of Villa Santa Maria.  We want to thank everyone associated with this kind of project,” Beltran, 31, said in Spanish.  He lives at the complex with his wife and two children.

He said the project and others like it allow migrant farmworker families “to be able to have a dignified place to live.  Villa Santa Maria provides us with comfort, tranquility and peace,” Beltran said, adding that it is important to live in such an environment for children’s sake.

He thanked Archbishop Brunett for his visit and his blessing of the site.

Eighth farmworker project
Villa Santa Maria, located at 3700 E. College Way, opened last September. It brings to four the number of archdiocesan affordable housing sites for farmworker families in Skagit County. The others are La Casa de Padre Miguel and La Casa de San Jose, both in Mount Vernon, and La Casa de Santa Rosa in Sedro-Woolley.

Villa Santa Maria has 29 resident units; the total for all four sites is 104 resident units. In all, there are eight archdiocesan affordable housing sites for farmworker families in Western Washington with 249 resident units. A ninth is in development in Centralia.

Other speakers offering words of support at the dedication included Father Kenneth Haydock, Episcopal Vicar for Catholic Charities and chairman of the Archdiocesan Housing Authority; Gloria Burton, housing developer for AHA; state Senator Harriet Spanel (D- 40th District) and Michael Youngquist, owner of Mike and Jean’s Berry Farm in Mount Vernon, and board member of the Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust.

Rep. Spanel noted the importance of providing affordable housing for farmworkers and the Archdiocese of Seattle’s leadership role in that effort. She nodded in acknowledgement when Archbishop Brunett noted that the Catholic Community Services of Western Washington is the largest provider of social services besides “the government itself.”

The housing complex features five two-story residential buildings with 29 two- and three-bedroom resident units, an on-site manager’s unit, a community building, a children’s play area and on-site parking. The community building has management offices and access to community services. It also will serve as meeting and classroom space for residents.

The $5.6 million project was funded with help from Homestead Capital, based in Portland, Ore.; Washington State Housing Finance Commission; Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development; and Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle.

The owner is the College Way Family Housing, LLC, with the Archdiocesan Housing Authority as managing partner.  The project contractor was Synergy Construction based in Woodinville. The architectural work was done by Tonkin Hoyne Lokan, based in Seattle.