The Chelan Valley Housing Trust (CVHT), a member of the Manson Chamber is a
501-c3 nonprofit housing developer with a mission of providing quality homes to
local wage earners in the Chelan and Manson areas.
Why was CVHT formed? It is a fact the Lake Chelan valley has a housing crisis.
Most of our area’s workforce can no longer afford to live here. CVHT was formed
to help solve this problem through the community land trust model.
Here’s how it works. Chelan Valley Housing Trust, under the Community Land
Trust (CLT) model, builds a new home, using one-time public or private
investment, then sells the home to a local wage earners who has obtained a loan to
purchase the home. The CVHT keeps the land, holding it in trust for future
generations of home buyers. In return for being able to buy a home at a discounted
price, the buyer agrees to “pay it forward” and sell to another income qualified
local family, at a price they can afford. The CVHT manages the sale process
ensuring that owners increase their wealth building capacity while also allowing
another income qualified buyer to afford the home at resale. In this way the one-
time investment in CVHT homes makes lasting attainability a reality.
Visionaries for the Chelan Valley Housing Trust were Rachael Goldie, Tim
Hollingsworth and Mike Cooney. They started the Affordable Housing Initiative in
2018 and Chelan Valley Housing Trust was incorporated in the State of
Washington and received 501-c3 status. Mike Cooney served as Executive Director
until December 2022 then in January 2023 Scott Meyers took over the duties of
Executive Director. I recently met with Scott to learn more about this organization.
Scott was born in Seattle and raised in Auburn, Washington near the Muckleshoot
Indian Reservation. Scott has an undergraduate degree from Pacific Lutheran
University in business administration with a concentration in finance, and a
graduate degree from the University of Washington in accounting. Scott and Stacy
have two sons Jackson and Archer. The Meyers created and operated Lake Chelan
Cheese for over ten years, at the same time Scott coached high school football for
Manson. Scott says, “I'm a serial entrepreneur but my background is in accounting
and auditing, most recently I worked as a Department of Defense auditor for
Deloitte & Touche.”
I asked Scott his main goal as Executive Director, “I hope to provide the workers of the valley an opportunity to purchase a home and realize the American Dream. I want to see our valley function well and reduce poverty, which I believe starts with home ownership.”
Who can apply? Households earning between 80%-120% area median income
(AMI=$78,800) and meeting other criteria are able to be considered. So far, five
units have been built and sold, with another eight units completed in 2023 and over
fifty units coming in 2024-2025. For the new home buyer, this is a great
opportunity to purchase a home, if you qualify.
Emerson Village, featuring five townhouses was CVHT’s first project located at E.
Chelan Avenue and N. Emerson Street. Several small projects are on the drawing
boards with a huge, 40 plus home development scheduled a year from now on
Anderson Road.
Most of CVHT’s funding comes by way of private donors. They also receive some
funding from the City of Chelan, Chelan County and other publicly funded
organizations.
“I would encourage those with surplus land to consider donating and those with
extra time and a desire to help, please volunteer. One of CVHT’s greatest resources
is the quality of the volunteers who have stepped up to serve on our initial Board of
Directors,” Scott said. CVHT’s Board of Directors includes Jolene Baker-
President, Clint Campbell-Vice President, Randy Atkins-Treasurer, Arlene Abbott-
Secretary, Tim Hollingsworth, Charlie Guildner, Diane Leigh, Sharon Lukacs,
Marguerite Palumbo Elspas, Dr. Jay Waszkewitz and Rachael Goldie-Housing
Director.
The best way to get started is by visiting CVHT’s website at
https://chelanvalleyhousing.org/own/ for more information and to apply. You can
contact CVHT’s office, located at 123 E. Johnson Avenue STE#1 in Chelan or contact by phone 509-508-1183 or email info@chelanvalleyhousing.org
Business hours are 9am to 4pm Monday – Wednesday and by appointment Thursday and Friday 9am to 4pm.
By Norm Manly
Community Volunteer
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