Building Community and Connection

On Wednesday, July 29, as the sun set over Turtleback and the full moon rose over Mount Constitution, dozens of community members gathered in support of the Pea Patch Community Campus. We shared stories and cheese served atop a canoe, sang and danced. The magic of Orcas on full display.  

Several community members spoke to the crowd about the great need to address the affordability crisis on Orcas Island. I was honored to be among these speakers, and here I’d like to spread our message further, and invite you to participate in supporting the Pea Patch Community Campus project, in my first installment of a series of upcoming messages sharing information and updates about the Pea Patch project.

When the Community Foundation, OPAL Community Land Trust, the Food Bank, and the Orcas Community Resource Center embarked on a collaborative effort four years ago to purchase and develop land now known as the Pea Patch Community Campus, it was ambitious and could not have even begun without the support of many generous community members. 

The vision then and now, still, is to create a community campus that doesn’t just house, doesn’t just feed, but provides well-being services and a place that engages and enriches our whole community.  

50% of Orcas residents cannot afford both food and housing. These are hard-working neighbors who make this island run and hum, who are taking care of families, and also retired people who have limited resources. The primary reason businesses are short staffed is because it is so expensive to live here. The average wage in the San Juans is little over $25 an hour, and yet the cost to live for a single adult with a child is $46.60 an hour. Wages simply don’t cover costs.  

As the cost of housing and food has risen dramatically, the demand for both has also exploded. This affordability crisis is not unique, but this community’s response to it is. That’s the magic of Orcas. 

Actually, I should say it feels like magic, but it’s really not. It’s the result of many, many caring community members who spend hours and hours, in meetings, doing research, planning, and contributing immense resources, over the course of years, to find creative ways to respond, and help each other. 

And because we see and feel the results of all this dedication, community trust and connection is built. 

OPAL has been a trailblazer since its inception. Now, with a long and successful history of addressing housing insecurity, we can trust that the 21 affordable rental homes at Pea Patch will help fulfil our community’s needs.  

The Food Bank, which has grown over the years from a small all-volunteer organization, has been working on overdrive, from any space across the island that they can get their hands on, with so much creativity and passion, especially since the pandemic. We can trust the Food Bank to address food insecurity to help fulfill our community’s needs. 

They need adequate resources and space to do this work effectively and efficiently.  

The new Food Bank building will provide a permanent, centralized home for meeting our community’s growing needs. Instead of struggling to meet the needs of our community, the Food Bank will be able to proactively provide.   

This campus will also be a model of environmental leadership including LEED-rated green buildings and renewable energy, plans to restore wetlands, create community paths, a regenerative food garden and more. The Campus also has undeveloped land that holds even more potential to bring our community together. 

Pea Patch will be a place that generates community and connection. And it can’t happen without your support for the current plans, right now. 

We have come a long way – from an idea, to a collaborative planning process, to many community members trusting the organizations involved to carry out the vision, to the site work happening now. 

Nearly $33 million out of the $40 million budget has been secured. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CLOSE THE GAP and fully fund the Pea Patch vision. 

If you have questions about the project, please ask me or another member of the Pea Patch team. We’d love to sit down with you. 

Housing and food security is foundational to our community’s health, and to preserving the magic we all create here. I hope you join us. 

For more info on the Pea Patch Campus, visit orcasislandfoodbank.org/our-future-home.

Summer is in full swing and so is the site work to prepare the Pea Patch Community Campus for construction! You may have noticed some big piles of dirt: the current work effort by local contractor Island Ex includes utility connections, stormwater retention installation and construction of the new entry road. Special thanks to the neighbors around the Pea Patch for their patience during this dusty and noisy phase of the project!  

The old Curtis farmhouse is prepped to be moved into its new location as the commons building for the new OPAL neighborhood of 20 townhomes. There are two existing buildings on the property providing rental housing that OPAL carefully inspected for building integrity, safety and efficiency. The larger home is in good condition and occupied with long-term leases in place. The smaller home is vacant and the assessment showed its condition does not warrant renovation. That building will be taken down this fall. There is a project binder behind the front counter at the Orcas Island library where the community can review permitting documents, studies and plans. 

Vertical construction on the 20 townhomes will begin in September. The homes are designed by Environmental Works and will be similar to the buildings at April's Grove. Construction on the new Food Bank building is expected to begin in the Spring. Campus completion is projected by the end of 2028.  

“We are excited to be able to provide the stability of year-round rentals to 20 more island households,” said Lisa Byers, OPAL Executive Director. “These townhomes will be affordable for household of very low income and applications will be available in late 2027.”

On the fundraising front, the Pea Patch Campaign has raised approximately $33M to date with about $7M left to go for project completion. The majority of the funding has come from public sources (state, county and one federal appropriation); private foundations and individual gifts make up the rest. A donor has offered to match up to $250,000 in gifts of $10,000-25,000 over the summer and $114,000 has been contributed to date toward that match.  

The Pea Patch Community Campus is under development at 55 Pea Patch Lane is a community collaboration led by OPAL Community Land Trust, the Orcas Island Food Bank and the Orcas Island Community Foundation. The unified social services campus will include a new permanent building for our Orcas Island Food Bank with greater capacity to meet the growing needs of the community and twenty new long-term townhome rentals with supportive services to serve households with very low incomes. Learn more at peapatchcommunitycampus-campaign.org.  

For more info on the Pea Patch Campus, visit orcasislandfoodbank.org/our-future-home.

Over the coming weeks, you'll notice more activity on the property as OPAL Community Land Trust prepares the site for construction. OPAL is taking important steps—from fire department training exercises to utility installation and site work—that bring us closer to creating a permanent home for the Orcas Island Food Bank and 20 affordable homes for our community.

Here's a look at what's happening this summer.

Training Today, Building Tomorrow: Fire District Training at Pea Patch

The tenant who was renting the little cottage at 157 Pea Patch Lane moved out. Based on the existing conditions assessment done by Falkin in 2024, OPAL determined that this building is not worth saving. The building will be demolished this summer and the location turned into an RV pad that OPAL Community Land Trust may make available to the construction crew during the construction of the housing. The site could then be available in the future for off-island contractors or other temporary needs. 

Prior to demolition, Lisa Byers, the executive director of the OPAL Community Land Trust, has granted permission to the Orcas Island Fire District to use the building for drills with fire fighters. They will practice using hoses around a building, entering a house when the door is blocked, cutting through a roof to gain access. The neighbors in the area were consulted and are supportive. The Fire District is assuming all liability for their members.

The first drill occurred July 2. Drills will also occur July 16, and Aug. 6 and 20.

Preparing the Ground for What's Ahead:  Utilities, stormwater, earthwork, construction activity

OPAL is on the cusp on having all their ducks in a row for utility installation and stormwater catchment. This means, you will likely see some bigger earthwork and equipment on site in the coming weeks. OPAL is working on a construction sign to help passersby understand what is taking shape. 

For more info on the Pea Patch Campus, visit orcasislandfoodbank.org/our-future-home.

When Governor Ferguson signed the capital budget last week, it included $824,000 for completion of the first phase of site work for the Pea Patch Community Campus! This means that site preparation work, installation of utilities, stormwater detention, a new entrance road, signs and the first phase of landscaping – everything needed to complete sub-division of the property —  can be accomplished this year. Site preparation and utlity installation work has already begun on the property. 

“Strong communities are built by people who know who they are, where they come from, and what their community truly needs,” said Lekanoff. “As a Native American who has lived through generations of paternal decision-making—where institutions came in to build for us rather than with us—I understand the difference. The Pea Patch stands apart because it was shaped by the community itself—rooted in their knowledge, their responsibility to the land, their stewardship of resources, and their commitment to the people who call the San Juan Islands home—not just for today, but for generations to come.

This work reflects the values of the community, and I am deeply grateful. I also want to recognize that I could not have focused on this project without the generosity and leadership of my colleagues, Rep Alex Ramel and Senator Liz Lovelett. As I carried this effort forward, they carried so many capital projects across the 40th District. This is what it means to be a team—the 40th District dream team—and they deserve our heartfelt appreciation.”

Construction on the new OPAL rental neighborhood on the Pea Patch is expected to begin in September.  Food Bank construction will follow after sufficient funds are raised to build the Food Bank’s building.  

The fundraising campaign to build the Pea Patch is making progress this spring with a series of major gifts and matching challenge grants. To date, more than 80% of the estimated $40M has been committed. Please reach out to Suzanne Olson at suzanne@opalclt.org if you’d like to learn more about the campaign and ways to support the project. 

The Pea Patch Community Campus is under development at 55 Pea Patch Lane, on the historic Lavender Farm, north of Eastsound Village. The unified social services campus will include a new permanent building for our Orcas Island Food Bank with greater capacity to meet the growing needs of the community and twenty new long-term townhome rentals with supportive services to serve households with very low incomes. The Pea Patch Community Campus is a collaboration of OPAL Community Land Trust, the Orcas Island Food Bank, the Orcas Island Community Foundation and the Orcas community. Learn more at https://peapatchcommunitycampus-campaign.org.