10/09/2026
Our team is proud to present FiveSquare, our submission to Whatcom Housing Alliance annual design competition.
While we always knew we could create a project that looked beautiful on presentation boards (I mean c’mon, pretty neat!), our team wanted to make sure the design we were presenting would be a truly feasible middle housing solution for a city like Bellingham.
As a team, we started the process by doing a full financial analysis looking at land costs, recent building costs, development and permitting costs with the City, and using that sum against what we believe to be achievable sale prices for entry-level homes.
FiveSquare is a five home development slated for a corner lot in the Columbia neighborhood, but could translate to any average 50’x100’ lot in a single-family neighborhood. It was designed to look almost like one single, large Craftsman home that would fit in in a typical PNW city.
The homes each would be privately-owned with proposed sale prices below market rate for Bellingham. Each unit is designed with the right space and comforts that could appeal to all of the types of folks (couples, young families, retirees, ect.) that are looking for middle housing forms but are priced out of single-family homes.
We’re proud of the work we put into this project and are glad for the conversations these competitions always create within our community.