Millworks Phase 1 is the first housing building to be located on the waterfront and sits on land purchased from the Port of Bellingham near downtown. The project began as a master plan with Mercy Housing Northwest and Whatcom Community Foundation. It is also one of the first developments in Whatcom County to take advantage of the Washington State Department of Ecology Healthy Housing Integrated Planning Grant, which cleans up contaminated areas for affordable housing.
The project consists of 83 units of workforce and family housing, along with a six-classroom early learning center (ELC) run by the YMCA to support approximately 100 kids. The four-story building includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments with laundry facilities located on each floor. Ten percent of the units serve families without permanent housing through a referral partnership with Opportunity Council and 20% of the units serve households with differently abled members. The building is designed to Evergreen Sustainable Design Standards (ESDS) and is energy efficient using solar energy and all-electric utilities. The design incorporates ample bike storage that, combined with the project’s transit-oriented location, encourages alternate methods of transportation for residents.
Mercy Housing aims to provide on-site services and programs that help residents succeed. To that end, a large community room with a residential kitchen is located on the ground floor and provides learning opportunities, including cooking and life skills.
The ELC accommodates children from infants to preschool. In addition to the classrooms, it includes a warming kitchen, laundry room, and staff offices with views into the front entry for safety and security. The site has a pickup/drop-off loop adjacent to the building entry along with a dedicated playground.
The placement of multiple windows throughout the ELC with sills at child height bring the outdoors in. Classrooms include a variety of storage options and depending on the classroom age range, diapering stations and/or toilet facilities with adjacent hand-washing sinks. Materials were selected for both aesthetics and durability with fun pops of color.
The project exterior has a mural created by Kristi Park of Biodesign Studios that pays tribute to the tidal flats that historically existed at this location on Bellingham’s downtown waterfront.
Millworks Phase 2 is currently in progress. The project a 109-units of workforce housing and includes a food campus and nonprofit office hub.