An Ideally Situated Neighborhood
For decades, the family behind Dusty Church Ranch Properties owned 19 acres. First, a middle school was built to the north, then a neighborhood was built to the east. When a neighborhood was added to the west, the family was ready for a change. They explored a few different options, but none of them seemed to fit quite right. Partnering with a developer would take too long. When other developers weren’t committed enough to put forward a cash offer, VP Rob Weston knew the answer: They chose the Cultivate Land Bank. VP Ali Taysi accelerated the feasibilty timeline, and VP Jamie Imus quickly delivered the economic analysis. By offering a cash price with a short feasibility period, Cultivate was able to meet the families goals in a timeframe that worked best for them.
On the surface, this looks like a fairly straightforward project: Add 84 homes in the location the city already set aside for Single Family development. But how often do things go according to plan? In pursuit of getting permits, VP Ali Taysi was routinely called upon to demonstrate the sorts of skills that are far from routine. “Different people within the permitting process have different goals and objectives, and helping bureaucrats from various agencies work together is a big part of what I do. The planning and works director authorized things that the hearing examiner rejected. The fire chief mandated things that the wetland biologist wouldn’t allow and the civil engineer couldn’t design. It’s the sort of thing that drives people crazy: everyone in the process recognizes the need for more housing, but individual agents can only see their one piece of the puzzle. Iit takes a lot of perseverance to help all those pieces fit together, and we did it..”
VP Ali Taysi was glad they did. “Projects like this don’t come along everyday. Sandwiched in between two existing neighborhoods, the property is the sort of infill project that meets the City of Ferndale’s needs for the future. With views of Mount Baker, connection to trails, and plenty of space for parks, this property increases the accessibility of Pacific Northwest housing.”
