Habitat for Humanity to build affordable cottages in Lynnwood

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 3, 2026

LYNNWOOD — Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County is working on a new affordable housing development in the heart of Lynnwood.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, visited the organization Thursday to hear about the new plans. The project, Willow Path Cottages, will consist of eight cottage homes clustered around a shared green space.

The organization is currently working on design and development and hopes to start construction later this fall, said Steven Li, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County. He expects the homes to go up for sale by the end of 2027.

Historically, most Habitat for Humanity’s projects have consisted of a lone, single-family home, but that model has become more expensive in recent years, Li said.

In 2023, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a bill requiring cities to update their development codes to allow for more middle housing, which includes duplexes, cottage housing and townhouses.

“That’s what we think is a sweet spot for home ownership,” Li said.

Around the same time, former state Rep. Ruth Kagi came to Habitat for Humanity looking to build housing on land that her family owned next to the QFC at 196th Street Southwest. The location is near Edmonds College and next to the Swift Orange Line.

“Ultimately, for the size, location and the scale, this type of middle housing seemed to make the most sense and had the most alignment with her goals but also with what we were doing,” Li said.

Since the Lynnwood light rail station opened in August 2024, there has been a lot of movement and migration to Lynnwood, Li said. He said it’s important to build affordable middle housing in urban areas.

“We’ve built homes out in Gold Bar and Index, and the land is cheaper there, but there’s no jobs there,” he said. “So for somebody to live there and still commute here into the urban core is still not affordable. … We’re talking more holistically about housing as affordable, as opposed to just land and the building itself.”

According to Lynnwood’s Housing Action Plan, 40% of households in the city were paying more than they could afford on housing in 2021. Since 2010, home values increased by 40% when accounting for inflation, according to the plan, and incomes have decreased by 2% when adjusted for inflation.

“We believe that attainable home ownership fills a really high need in creating stability for families,” Li said. “Being able to maintain a constant, affordable mortgage enables them to stay long-term and not feel the threat of constantly being economically evicted by increasing rents.”

The homes are 650 to 900 square feet each. Most new homes in Lynnwood are built at 3,000 square feet, Li said. The organization is still figuring out how much the homes will cost. Buyers will have to make 80% or below of the area median income, which is $146,000, Li said.

“We hope that this kind of community is going to be open to all different kinds of familial or household units and just a wider representation of the Snohomish County community,” said Pratima Stanton, development director for Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County.

Right now, the project is estimated to cost about $5 million. Funding will come from individual donors, grants, state funding and partnerships, Li said.

“Funding continues to be the challenge for us,” he said. “The cost to build these versus how much we can sell them for, that gap continues to get bigger. The reality is that in order for these projects to actually happen … we depend on partnerships.”

The organization is working on the legal structure of the project to ensure the homes remain permanently affordable, Li said, such as a ground lease.

Li said he hopes that if the Willow Path Cottages project is successful, the model can be replicated in other areas in Snohomish County and the state.

Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County receives federal funding for affordable housing, Larsen said, including the Community Development Block Grant Program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. On Friday, the Trump administration released its proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which included eliminating both of those programs.

“The White House proposed to eliminate those programs last year, and Congress said ‘No, we’re not going to eliminate those programs,’” Larsen said. “We did not eliminate them, in fact, we funded them.”

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.