I wish I could close my eyes and mind to the work of OlyCAP’s Cherish Cronmiller who is about to squander millions on a poorly conceived housing project of dubious value — one which will concentrate in close quarters needy individuals and families at significant cost.

Take a look at the rendering of the 43-unit complex featured in the Feb. 10 issue of The Leader and ask yourself, “Is such concentration of the needy in one place, no matter how broke up it is made to look, the very best solution to a need that seems to be growing day by day?”

Before settling in Port Townsend, I served as a special assistant to Chicago City Architect Jerome Butler — saving Chicago’s Navy Pier from demolition and setting the stage for its transformation into Chicago’s No. 1 tourist attraction. I represented him in meetings held to consider the future of public housing in Chicago. It didn’t surprise me to find the mayor’s political appointees lacking in both experience and imagination.

It’s not quite the same here — yet, with OlyCAP’s Cherish Cronmiller in charge and Third Place Design Collaborative in tow, I’m afraid of what’s a-coming.

I see substantial cost overruns as well as a myriad of social problems built into a project of this size and configuration — which might have been avoided had Cherish, early on, responded to my offer of advice.

Just for fun, think back to the student housing shortages experienced by colleges in response to a horde of new students taking advantage of the GI Bill. Where to put them? A lesson for all.

A lesson for us.

Todd Wexman
PORT TONWSEND