New THRIVE Initiative Seeks to Add Attainable Workforce Housing in Washington — and Beyond

A drone view of Raymond, Washington.

In Raymond, Washington, where we've operated a lumber mill since the 1930s and owned timberland in the surrounding Willapa Hills for even longer, finding a home can be more of a challenge than buying one.

The reasons run the gamut and reflect many of the same complexities driving housing shortages in rural communities across the country, including an aging population, limits on developable land and a significant share of local houses being used as vacation homes or short-term rentals.

There are few quick fixes for any of these concerns. But for the past 18 months, our THRIVE team, led by Nancy Thompson, senior director of advocacy and philanthropy, and Katie Hooker, corporate giving manager, has been building a coalition of partners determined to make housing in Raymond more attainable for the local community.

And if their project goes as planned, they hope to have a blueprint that can be shared, replicated and scaled in similar communities across the country.

The clearing above the river is where the homes will be built.

IDENTIFYING A NEED

Weyerhaeuser's involvement in this project started shortly after we selected Raymond as the second community in our THRIVE program in July 2024 and pledged to invest $1 million in community improvements there over the next several years. Through community surveys and listening sessions with residents, employees, elected officials and other local leaders, Nancy and Katie quickly identified workforce housing as a top priority for the investment.

"We kept hearing that there's just not housing available," Katie says. "That when you move to this area and try to buy a home, there's only a handful available - and they're either not in your price range or not the right fit."

It's a familiar refrain to Craig Dublanko, chief executive officer of the Coastal Community Action Program, a regional nonprofit based in Aberdeen, Washington, about 25 miles north of Raymond. CCAP administers social service programs, including long-term and emergency housing, across Grays Harbor and Pacific counties where Aberdeen and Raymond are located, respectively.

"Every single day we're open, we're actively trying to find housing for people in Pacific County," Craig says. "I can tell you, Grays Harbor is tough. Pacific County is worse. It is one of the tightest housing markets you could imagine."

A recent housing needs assessment by the University of Washington highlighted many of the contributing factors, including rising demand from vacationers. The report found that 38 percent of the county's housing stock is used as vacation homes or short-term rentals - second only to San Juan County statewide. Housing costs have also outpaced income, with home values doubling over the past 10 years while incomes rose just 34 percent.

Anecdotally, Craig says he's heard of people moving to Pacific County for jobs only to live in their cars until they can find housing, and that it's not uncommon for an online search of listings to return only two or three available apartments countywide at any one time.

Weyerhaeuser employees face the same challenge. About 1 in 5 workers at our Raymond lumber mill commute more than an hour each way.

"Housing is a huge deal in Raymond," Craig says, "and it has been for a long time."

An aerial view of our Raymond lumber mill.

BUILDING A COALITION

As they explored ways Weyerhaeuser could make a difference through THRIVE, Nancy and Katie consulted with the Pacific County Economic Development Council, toured buildings, visited properties around Raymond, and reached out to local financial institutions, realtors and nonprofits. Ultimately, they zeroed in on a property in the River View addition southwest of downtown that had already been surveyed and subdivided into 55 lots.

"It was ready to go," Katie says, "and we thought it would be the right fit."

Around the same time, Nancy and Katie were introduced through a mutual partner to Craig at CCAP, who was immediately interested in exploring a collaboration.

"We thought it sounded like a fantastic project," Craig says. "The more we talked, the more we were like, 'This is great. Let's do this.'"

CCAP's local knowledge and connections helped bring together on-the-ground partners, including HiLine Homes as the homebuilder, West Satsop Contracting for site development, The Money Store to assist future homebuyers with financing, local realtor Melanie Seiler, and local digital creatives Ben Dublanko and Fabiana Mora-Lamperein to build the project website.

Nancy and Katie, meanwhile, submitted a grant proposal to the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and secured an additional $1 million for the project, effectively doubling its scope. Peter Orser, former CEO of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company, also joined the team as a strategic consultant.

From these collective efforts emerged the Raymond Housing Initiative, the most ambitious and potentially most impactful project yet undertaken through our THRIVE program.

GETTING TO WORK

Rolling out in two phases, the project aims to deliver 13 to 15 homes over the next 12 to 18 months. About half the homes will be built during the first phase of the project, which officially launched this week with a new website that allows potential buyers to view available lots, select one of three floor plans, connect with a realtor and begin the homebuying process.

All the homes are intended for working families earning up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) in Pacific County. AMI defines the exact midpoint of an area's income distribution, meaning half of households in that area earn more and half less. In Pacific County, the AMI for a four-person household in 2025 was $89,900.

Most of Weyerhaeuser's THRIVE investment is being used to purchase the land in Raymond, though full ownership of the homes and lots will transfer to the homebuyers with each sale, ensuring we do not retain any long-term ownership stake. Other portions of our funds will be used to subsidize the homes to ensure monthly payments for future owners do not exceed 30 percent of the household's income - a key affordability metric, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To meet that goal, Craig says project partners are working to bring the total cost of each home to around $300,000, an aggressive target given the rising cost of residential construction.

The Endowment's grant will supplement those actions while primarily being used for launching and demonstrating the initiative as a replicable blueprint for expanding attainable workforce housing in other communities around the country.

Each home also will be protected by a long-term affordability covenant to ensure it remains within reach of working families in the event of a sale - not flipped or sold for vacation rentals. CCAP and other local partners will monitor the covenants for compliance and provide ongoing education and guidance for new and prospective homeowners in the neighborhood.

"We're trying very hard to make sure the price of the home doesn't put somebody in a difficult spot with their mortgage," Craig says. "So they can afford to work here, raise their kids here and live a healthy life."

DESIGNING A BLUEPRINT

Though the first homes in Raymond have yet to be built, many people involved in the project can already imagine versions of it spreading to rural communities across the country. The idea of creating a blueprint, in fact, was one of the major draws for the Endowment, whose mission includes supporting and strengthening rural communities that depend on the forest-products industry.

"We saw this project as much more than attainable housing," says Delie Wilkens, director of communities at the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. "We saw it as something that could be replicated in other communities because attainable housing isn't just an issue in Raymond, Washington. It's an issue across the country."

If the blueprint taking shape so far illustrates anything, it's the power of diverse partnerships to tackle even the most intractable problems one community at a time.

"We've been talking about how sometimes it feels like we're walking a deer trail to clear it out and make it a road, so that maybe someday, others can drive it," Craig says. "We're working really hard to make sure this is a project that all of us can be proud of."

PARTNER POWER

At least nine different partners are involved in the new Raymond Housing Initiative, which aims to add more than a dozen new attainable homes for workers in our second THRIVE community of Raymond, Washington, over the next 12 to 18 months.

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities

Not-for-profit public charity collaborating with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation's working forests and forest-reliant communities. Based in Greenville, South Carolina.

Coastal Community Action Program

Serving as local project managers, coordinating regional partner relationships, providing educational resources to buyers, managing the website, monitoring covenants. Based in Aberdeen, Washington.

HiLine Homes

Serving as the project's main homebuilder. Buyers can choose from one of three custom floor plans. Based in Puyallup, Washington.

West Satsop Contracting

Managing site preparations for all lots, including connecting utilities, installing driveways, patios and landscaping. Based in Montesano, Washington.

The Money Store

Lending and mortgage services for project home buyers. Local branch in Puyallup, Washington.

Pacific County Economic Development Council

Supported community survey and helped identify property for the project.

City of Raymond

Supported early exploration of properties and sites, introduced and connected THRIVE team to community leaders and organizations.

Realtor

Melanie Seiler

Dublanko Creative

The creative team of Ben Dublanko and Fabiana Mora-Lamperein designed and built the project website, https://www.riverviewlanding.org.