mercy_millworks

Affordable housing on the waterfront

In August 2024, Mercy Housing Northwest, in partnership with Whatcom Community Foundation, celebrated the grand opening of Mercy Millworks Family Housing on the waterfront near the Port of Bellingham. Half of the homes are two—and three-bedroom units, meeting a critical need for more affordable family housing in Whatcom County.

Affordable and energy-efficient homes 

Mercy Millworks features 83 new, affordable, energy-efficient homes. Half of the homes are two—and three-bedroom units, meeting a critical need for more affordable family housing in Whatcom County. The community also features offices for onsite property management and resident services staff, a community room with a kitchen, outdoor recreation space including a playground, and a six-classroom YMCA early learning center.

This highly sustainable community uses the new Washington State Department of Ecology’s Healthy Housing cleanup program to clean up contaminated sites for affordable housing. Millworks marks the first affordable housing community in Whatcom County and the second completed in the state to use this approach.

Mercy Millworks Family Housing received an Edson Award for Small Metropolitan Area.