American Legion Veteran Housing and Resource Center and Raymond City Hall
The Willapa Community Development Association (WDCA) in partnership with the City of Raymond and local American Legion Post 150, is moving forward with the purchase and demolition of the deteriorating American Legion Building and the construction of a new flagship building on the site in the downtown Raymond. The first floor will have a Community Resource Center and Raymond City Hall. The 2nd and 3rd floors will have 18 affordable studio and one-bedroom apartments prioritizing veterans.
Affordable Housing:
The upper floors will have 18 affordable apartments which are in very short supply in the area. All of the units will have a preference for veterans. Three of the units will house homeless individuals referred from the County’s Coordinated Entry system. The units will be accessible via an elevator to accommodate disabled residents.
New City Hall:
The City’s existing City Hall is in a severely deteriorated condition. Locating in the new American Legion Building provides an opportunity to be centrally located and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Raymond. In addition to city offices, the new city hall will include a meeting room shared with the resource center.
Community Resource Center:
With distances to major cities ranging from 65 miles (Olympia) to 130 miles (Seattle and Portland), accessing services is often difficult! The project includes a Resource Center with a focus on expanding veteran services, currently unavailable locally. The center will include offices, a meeting room, small kitchenette and restroom. It will provide space for staff from WSU Extension, Coastal CAP, HUD/VASH Rural Team, Pacific County Voices Uniting, Pacific County’s Veteran’s Service office and other service providers.
Progress to Date:
WCDA has contracted with Environmental Works Community Design Center, the project architect, and GS Consulting, an affordable housing developer and entered into a Development Agreement with the City of Raymond. After extensive investigation it has been determined that the existing building cannot be saved due to its deteriorated structural condition. (The city has recently taken steps to abate the building.) Design is complete with building permits pending. Asbestos abatement is underway. Ronglin’s was selected as the General Contractor through a competitive bid process.
Project Timeline:
| Permit Application | March 2025 |
| Bidding & Start Construction | September-December 2025 |
| Construction Complete | March 2027 |
Project Budget:
| Acquisition | $245,000 |
| Construction, Housing | $8,400,000 |
| Construction, Community Center | $1,900,000 |
| Construction, City Hall | $3,100,000 |
| Soft Costs | $2,350,000 |
| Financing Fees | $260,000 |
| Capitalized Reserves | $78,000 |
| Other Miscellaneous | $250,000 |
| Total | $16,583,000 |
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Funding Sources:
| Federal Direct Allocation 2023 | $1,000,000 |
| State Housing Trust Fund | $4,055,427 |
| State Direct Allocation 2022/2025 | $3,152,500 |
| State Connecting Housing to Infrastructure | $298,861 |
| State Building Communities Fund | $478,210 |
| HUD Community Development Block Grant | $1,629,600 |
| Pacific County, Predev./Construction Funds | $345,000 |
| Pacific County, Pending 0.1% | $200,000 |
| City of Raymond for City Hall Portion | $3,952,884 |
| Washington Community Reinvestment Association | $475,000 |
| Rural Community Assistance Corporation | $500,000 |
| WCDA Contribution | $495,518 |
| Total | $16,583,000 |
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Notes on Secured Funding and Project Costs:
This budget is based on Rognlin’s bid and a 6% construction contingency, which is 60% of the typical and recommended contingency for a project of this scope. All funds are secured except for the Pacific County 0.1% funds. In addition, the Legion Building and the adjoining were constructed as one building in 1914. The project budget includes stabilizing the existing common wall during demolition of the American Legion building, but not wall reconstruction, which will likely be an additional project expense.