Western Washington University plans to vacate, demolish several rental homes north of campus

Western Washington University plans to demolish four decades-old residential homes and vacate two others on University-owned land near campus this spring and summer.

The properties are located just north of campus along Ivy Terrace Street, next to the Sehome Hill Arboretum.

School officials plan to demolish and remove four of the units, known as the Ivy Terrace Cottages. The cottages have been uninhabited for at least a year and were originally vacated due to mold, according to WWU Director of Communications Jonathan Higgins.

A tree also fell on one of the unoccupied units during a fall storm, making it structurally unstable, Higgins said.

Higgins said three other residences along Ivy Terrace Street are not currently planned for demolition, though the university intends to vacate the two that are occupied. One of them has been unoccupied for 10 years and is uninhabitable, according to Higgins.

The tenants of the other two residences have been notified that they will need to be out of their houses by May 31 and June 30.

“The tenants were given 90 days’ notice. We also have agreed to return 100% of their deposits, and we will be waiving their last month’s rent to help them out with moving expenses,” Higgins wrote in a statement to The Herald.

Higgins did not say why the two occupied residences are being vacated or whether the university expects to demolish them in the future.

However, an email communication sent to the tenants from Windermere Property Management, the company that manages the properties, indicated the homes would be torn down. It stated that “because of the demolishing of the buildings,” the tenants will only be required to remove their personal belongings from the unit upon vacating it.

“There is no point in cleaning, maintenance, or any touch-up paint,” the email stated.

James Beach is a tenant in one of the occupied properties on Ivy Terrace. He told The Herald he has lived there for about 20 years.

“It is home to me,” Beach said.

Beach said maintenance upkeep on his house in recent years has dwindled. He said his roof leaked for almost a year before it was repaired. Ultimately, he said, the house is in good shape and he would like to stay living in it if there are no immediate plans to demolish it.

Beach said his biggest concern is that housing is already limited in Bellingham. He said uprooting tenants and demolishing homes worsens that problem.

“It reduces the inventory of houses for the entire neighborhood. It doesn’t just affect me. It literally affects every single person who rents in Bellingham.”

Higgins said the university is assessing opportunities to develop the properties into higher-density housing or other facilities that will benefit the community. But he did not say whether any concrete plans are in place.

“The Western community will continue to have opportunities to provide our planners and architects with input on this, and all other campus spaces, as part of our ongoing Capital Development and Strategic Vision Plan process,” Higgins said in the statement.