Vashon HouseHold has purchased and is now the owner and manager of the Islander Apartments — a 12-unit, three-building rental property on 96th Place S.W., near Vashon’s town core.

This acquisition, said Vashon HouseHold director Jason Johnson, in a press release about the sale, will preserve 12 units of affordable housing on the island.

The Islander Apartment complex represents the fifth rental property in Vashon HouseHold’s portfolio, which now offers 88 affordable rental units on the island. Another Vashon HouseHold property currently being developed for low-income islanders, Island Center Homes, will add an additional 40 units to the affordable housing inventory on Vashon after its planned opening in 2024.

Islander Apartments

Vashon HouseHold purchased the apartment buildings from islanders Deb Phillimore and Gib Dammann, who through their company, Alexander and Bang, LLC, had owned and operated the Islander Apartments since 2008.

The sale price, according to property records, was $2.54 million.

The couple had originally bought the property under a seller-financed contract, and that purchase and sale strategy inspired them to negotiate a similarly “buyer-friendly agreement” with Vashon HouseHold, Johnson said.

Phillimore and Dammann had wanted to sell only to Vashon HouseHold and started talks with the nonprofit about five years ago to do so.

“We … kept at it until we came up with a plan to keep it always affordable for island renters,” the couple said jointly, in a statement. “That is why Vashon HouseHold exists.”

Phillimore and Dammann also said that they hope their sale will inspire other islanders to find creative ways to support Vashon HouseHold’s efforts on behalf of working families and fixed-income retirees in need of affordable housing.

The Islander Apartments were fully occupied at the time of purchase. According to Johnson, those living at the Islander Apartments represent Vashon’s diverse population — workforce, seniors, and people living with disabilities — all of whom qualify for affordable housing, earning less than 80% of area median Income — $67,500 annually.

Vashon HouseHold has agreed to honor all existing tenant leases and to keep current low rent levels in place, he said — calling it an important consideration to both the sellers and their tenants that the purchase would not affect the stability of current tenants.

For future rentals of the property, a covenant included in property records for the sale obligates Vashon HouseHold to rent to tenants with incomes that are 80% or less of the area median.

The purchase also represents something new in Vashon HouseHold’s 30-year history of building and buying property — a purchase that did not rely on government or public funds, but rather, was accomplished through buyer-friendly seller financing and generous community support.

According to Johnson, four Vashon families — all dedicated to the cause of preserving affordable housing on the island — stepped up to cover the costs associated with the down payment, appraisal, inspection, and closing. These donors were Andrew Shuman, Sara Dickerman, Gary and Catherine Briggs, Jennifer and Christopher Roberts, and a local family foundation that wishes to remain anonymous.

“All these donors stated their larger hope is that their efforts would inspire other Vashonites to step up and support Vashon HouseHold, either through donations or to think about approaching Vashon HouseHold when selling their home/land/apartment building to help with the low-income housing crisis on the island,” Johnson said.

Vashon HouseHold will also seek continued additional support through donations to pay off the amount it has financed on the purchase of the Islander Apartments, Johnson added, saying the organization hoped to do so within ten years

Affordable housing — a pressing island need

Vashon HouseHold’s press release announcing the purchase of the Island Apartments described the island’s need for affordable housing as having never been greater, with rents, home resales and property taxes having increased to levels that are not affordable to many residents.

The lack of affordable housing has also contributed to an extreme shortage of workforce housing units that limits businesses’ ability to provide goods and services, it said.

“Vashon HouseHold alone has more than 200 individuals and families on its wait-list and housing interest list, and we know this is not a full picture of the actual housing need,” Johnson said, adding that while his organization’s acquisition of the Islander Apartments will help, more needs to be done.

“Vashon HouseHold is always exploring opportunities to increase affordable housing options in this community,” he said. “We regularly review land, homes, and buildings that are for sale and try to see what is possible for us to develop. Typically, we are not able to move forward because of limited public and private funding. To meet this community’s housing need, we need to work in partnership with local community organizations, government agencies, and individual donors to build or acquire future affordable housing. The purchase of the Islander Apartments represents that these partnerships do work.”

Gedeny Barclay, a Vashon HouseHold board member, also thanked the sellers and community members who had made the purchase possible — hailing the sale as a blueprint for more acquisitions by the nonprofit.

“Before Islander Apartments, we always believed it would be possible to expand Vashon HouseHold’s impact through private giving, but had not yet seen a proof of concept,” Barclay said. “Islander Apartments is that proof of concept: when our community comes together, there’s no shortage of innovative, flexible and responsive solutions we can create for our community to make sure everyone has a home they can afford.”

For more information about Vashon HouseHold, including its three affordable home ownership communities – Roseballen Community Land Trust, Sunflower Community Land Trust, and Vashon Cohousing – visit vashonhousehold.org.