After three years and a budget of $3.2 million, the Cherry Street Project welcomed its first tenants. Not in the 70-year old building contaminated with asbestos and lead. No, these tenants are living al fresco in a homeless encampment.

The photograph for this story was taken February 27, 2020. It shows a trashed out camp in the trees just below the empty building that was barged from Victoria, B.C. nearly three years ago. The grounds are now full of trash–a discarded tire, broken gate, plastic, construction waste–and showing signs of severe erosion.  The encampment itself is a heap of soggy sleeping bags, discarded clothing, loose garbage, bags of unknown items, and what appeared to be drug paraphernalia. More than one person has set up camp in the heart of what was once a very nice neighborhood.

Property values of surrounding houses were no doubt already in decline due to the proximity of the unfinished building and the neglected lot. It is unlikely the building will ever be completed. Our last report detailed how Homeward Bound Community Land Trust, the group behind the building–which already has nearly $2.2 dollars of taxpayer commitment through a loan from the City of Port Townsend and the gift of $600,000 in land–is going to default when its first payment is due this summer. They have been burning through the grace period that was supposed to have seen completion and rental of the building so that the group could start earning income with which to pay back the taxpayers. We explained more than a year ago how the loan package was doomed to result in default. See our December 12, 2018 report, “The Tragedy of the Cherry Street Project.”

The last word from the group behind the project, as we reported previously, was they needed at least another million dollars to finish the project.

A letter to the Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader from former Port Townsend City Councilor Bob Gray, published after our last report, explained that nothing is happening to move the project forward because neither Homeward Bound nor the city has the money the project needs so that it can be rehabilitated, brought up to code and rented.

Who is responsible for this mess? Who should be held accountable? On one side is Homeward Bound, the group that has received generous taxpayer funding but in three years has failed produce any shelter except for this homeless camp. Kate Dean, a Jefferson County Commissioner, has been deeply involved in Homeward Bound for the past three years and is one of their longest serving board members. On the city’s side, Mayor Michelle Sandoval was the most vocal supporter of the project at its start when she boasted it would be “a demonstration project.” Our upcoming report will focus on the role these two officials have played in this fisaco.

Jim Scarantino

Jim Scarantino was the editor and founder of Port Townsend Free Press. He is happy in his new role as just a contributor writing on topics of concern to him. He spent the first 25 years of his professional life as a trial attorney, then launched an online investigative news website that broke several national stories. He is also the author of three crime novels. He resides in Jefferson County. See our “About” page for more information.