Finch GREEN | Affordable Housing

Finch Green is a community-led effort to build affordable housing on land donated by the Bethany Church congregation. Our mission is to build housing that meets the greatest need, allowing purpose and the people we serve to drive the design of the community. We hope you will join us as we work to create new ways to provide safe and affordable housing for our neighbors.

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A Community Response

Bainbridge Island is a small community that prides itself on the high quality of life available to its residents. With its extensive open space, excellent schools, diverse philanthropic organizations, and thriving arts community, Bainbridge is a place to put down roots, raise a family, develop life-long friendships, and live a full life. Unfortunately, as the cost of living in this area continues to rise, finding a place to call home on the island has become increasingly difficult, especially for young families, single parents, and anyone on a fixed income. All these people contribute toward the vitality of our unique island community and deserve a place to live here, and Finch Green is working to make sure they can afford a home.

Paying it Forward

The land on which Bethany Church currently sits was gifted to the congregation in the 1950’s. Today’s congregation feels a responsibility to pay that gift forward in order to utilize the land to contribute to the community’s well-being. Land south of the existing Church buildings will be developed by Finch Green to build an affordable housing neighborhood. We are deeply grateful to the Church for this incredible gift.

Vision

Our vision for this generous gift of land is a diverse and inclusive pocket neighborhood of single-family homes that blends into the surrounding area. The neighborhood will be designed for an intergenerational mix of residents, with young families, single parents, and elders living in a connected and well-designed community. Homes will be designed to explore and demonstrate best practices in community and sustainable design, creating a safe, stable, and connected community where its residents can thrive, sharing in all the benefits that living in our small island community offers.

Location

The location north of the intersection of Finch and Sportsman Club Roads is ideally suited to an affordable housing neighborhood – it is located within walking distance of ten schools, the public library, a public pool, and a shopping district. There is a pre-school and a community meeting space on site. Additionally, the property is served by Kitsap transit and currently hosts a park & ride for ferry commuters.

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Just Good Design

Our intent is that this project will be a model for how affordable housing can achieve multiple objectives. By focusing on inclusive, regenerative design we hope to create well designed housing that works for the people who need it most, neighborhoods that can integrate well into the surrounding community, and homes that live lightly on the planet.

Inclusive Design

Finch Green will be designed for people of all ages and abilities. We know that over 26% of people live with various kinds of disabilities, yet less than 6% of the national housing stock is designed to be accessible. The vision for Finch Green is to create homes in a neighborhood designed with careful intention to create a truly accessible and inclusive home for all people. What will this look like? Pathways through the neighborhood that are accessible and easy to navigate, homes that are easy to enter so neighbors of all abilities can visit each other, kitchens and bathrooms reflecting universal design principles.

Regenerative Design

We recognize that we are stewards of this land which was sustainably managed by the suq̀wabš, “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People), for thousands of years before we arrived. To continue this tradition of caring for the land and honoring the ancestors as well as the children of future generations, we are committed to using regenerative design principles. What does this look like in practice? Using natural materials, like wood, that sequester carbon. Managing stormwater on site with native vegetation to protect the aquifer, and enhancing the understory with native plantings to increase biodiversity. Protecting healthy stands of native trees – all ways that we can leave a positive footprint for the future.

Project Timeline

We feel the urgency to move quickly to design and build Finch Green, in order to meet a compelling community need. Our timeline is therefore ambitious – in 2023, we will begin community engagement and embark on design and permitting, as well as initiating our capital campaign. In 2024, we will finalize the design and apply for State and County funding as well as philanthropic grants. Once funding is secured, our hope is to start building homes in 2025.

Project Funding

With the donation of land from the Bethany congregation along with grant funds to finance feasibility work, this project begins at a strong advantage and is well-positioned to move quickly toward entitlement and to begin construction in early 2025.

Local support, both from the City affordable housing funds, and from community philanthropy, is key to the success of this project. We invite the entire Bainbridge community to come together to help us imagine, design, and fund this project. It’s a big lift.

Finch Green is a federally approved 501(c)(3) organization, so your contributions are eligible for tax deductions. We are currently raising money to continue design and predevelopment work. Funding at this early stage is both the most challenging and the most meaningful. Your donations as we begin this project will ensure we can stay on schedule to provide housing as soon as possible to meet a critical need in our community. For more information on how you can contribute at this time, please email us at [email protected].

Who We Are

Finch Green is a Washington non-profit organization founded specifically to create affordable housing on property currently owned by Bethany Lutheran Church. Its creation is inspired by the increasingly acute need for affordable housing on Bainbridge Island and is driven by the congregation’s deep belief in acting with “compassion for others”. Finch Green’s leadership includes members of the congregation’s affordable housing task force, HRB board members, and members of the Bainbridge community. The sole mission of this organization is to construct housing that meets the greatest need on Bainbridge Island, consistent with the City’s legislative mandates and its assessment of housing priorities.

We hope that you will join us to reimagine the possibilities for affordable and sustainable housing.

Finch Green will rely on the ideas, expertise and resources of our neighbors, our partners, and our community to envision new ways to design and build affordable housing. We have established a partnership to work collaboratively with Housing Resources Bainbridge (HRB) throughout the development process, eventually turning the project over to HRB for long term management and support. We invite others in the community to join us, bringing your ideas, expertise, and resources to help us build Finch Green.

News, Events & Announcements

Finch Green is truly a community-led endeavor. Building well-designed, sustainable housing to meet the needs of the people who will live in this community is no small task, and we don’t intend to do it alone. We have scheduled a series of community engagement meetings, first to listen to your ideas, and then to work with the community to ensure the final design incorporates what we hear. Please check in here for updates to the meeting schedule and sign up for our interest list to receive invitations and project updates.