Wenatchee pitches in to help a nonprofit build reasonably priced tiny homes with an innovative ownership model.
By Eric Wilinski
Buying a home is expensive in Wenatchee. According to realtor.com, the median sales price of homes in the area is $549,000—far more than many blue-collar and service workers, government employees, and single parents in the city of 35,000 can afford. As a result, many would-be homebuyers are forced to rent instead of buying or move somewhere more affordable.
In an effort to bring more reasonably priced homes to market, the city is teaming up with the Common Ground Community Housing Trust (a community-led development of individually owned buildings on community-owned land) to enable the financing and construction of attractive, affordable tiny homes.
Wenatchee Mayor Mike Poirier and Common Ground Community Housing Trust Executive Director Thom Nees at the future site of the Crail Cottages in Wenatchee. (Photo courtesy City of Wenatchee)
In 2024, Common Ground broke ground on the $2.5 million Crail Cottages project: eight affordably priced 970-square-foot homes on a .4-acre plot. In 2025, these homes will become available for purchase by those earning under 80% of the area median household income, which was $66,143 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“A lot of people who work or grew up in Wenatchee can’t afford to buy a home here,” says Mayor Mike Poirier. “These are an affordable way for people to get into a cute little starter home.”
Crail Cottages uses the shared-equity ownership model: Buyers purchase the structure and lease the land from Common Ground. As a result, buyers enjoy a significantly lower cost of entry—Crail Cottages units will list at $160,000 to $180,000—pay lower property taxes, and still can build equity. In this model, the homes remain affordable when they go back on the market due to caps on resale value that keep homes affordable in perpetuity.
A rendering of Wenatchee’s Crail Cottages development. (Photo courtesy City of Wenatchee)
Common Ground plans to build eight new homes per year for five years, adding 40 affordable homes to Wenatchee’s housing stock. The city has taken a variety of steps to help achieve this goal, such as waiving fees and streamlining processes, contributing $60,000 worth of in-kind support. Poirier anticipates that the city will also start applying for state and federal grants to help finance the purchase of additional land and the construction of more homes using the housing trust model.
“I believe in doing the right thing, and Common Ground is doing the right thing for our community. I want to be part of their vision because it’s a win for Wenatchee,” says Poirer. “As mayor, I’m looking for ways to coordinate with the city’s partners to try to help. For example, I’m working with the Wenatchee School District to see if it has surplus property for a new development.”
I believe in doing the right thing, and Common Ground is doing the right thing for our community. I want to be part of their vision because it’s a win for Wenatchee.
Partnering with land trusts is an opportunity not just for Wenatchee, Poirer stresses, but for communities across the state.
“I want our work with Common Ground to be a model. I’m hoping that East Wenatchee looks at it, that Chelan County and other counties look at it,” he says. “I’d tell anyone who’s interested to see if there’s an existing land trust they can work with, and, if not, to support the creation of one.”