TRI-CITY (Washington) HERALD

August 8, 2008

Farmworker project nears completion

By Mary Hopkin, Herald staff writer

PRESCOTT -- A new $2.4 million seasonal farmworker housing project is expected to be ready for workers by the time the apple harvest is in full swing.

The project, developed by the nonprofit Mano Mano with a $1.5 million grant from the Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, may be a model for seasonal worker housing to come, said Janet Abbett, CTED's farmworker housing program manager.

The 18 two-story, townhouse-style apartments are in the final stages of construction on five acres adjacent to Vista Hermosa, a community built by Broetje Orchards for its workers in the 1990s.

Broetje Orchards, owned by Ralph and Cheryle Broetje, also has a significant hand in the new housing.

Broetje leased the land for the housing to Mano Mano, said Roger Bairstow, Mano Mano's director and a Broetje son-in-law.

Although the new housing will benefit Broetje's operation, it also will be available for other farmers and orchardists in the area, Bairstow said.

"This is not intended to be exclusively for Broetje," he said.

At least 10 percent of the units will be set aside for migrant farmworkers who are looking for housing. The rest is available for other farmers to reserve throughout the year.

Bairstow said growers can reserve units and use the housing for workers brought in under the H2A program, which requires agriculture producers to provide housing for workers.

That could be helpful for other orchardists, like Dave Hovde, manager of Flat Top Ranch down the road from Broetje.

High gas prices have workers reluctant to make a daily trek to a far-off orchard.

"We have five different farms in this area, fairly close to Pasco, and we have a farm next to (Broetje) -- it's more difficult to get people to drive out that far," said Hovde. "Anything that is done to provide more (farmworker) housing is a plus."

The air-conditioned, 1,200-square-foot units -- being built by Shamrock Construction of Pasco -- will likely be far more attractive to seasonal farm workers than traditional tent camps or cheap motel rooms, drawing more of them to the apple-tree covered hills overlooking the Snake River near Prescott.

"These aren't your typical 'seasonal farmworker housing' units," said Bairstow. "We intentionally designed these townhouses to be flexible to the need we see for housing. These units are spacious, modern and able to accommodate individual agriculture workers or single families."

Each of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments will sleep up to six people.

And the workers who live there will have access to most of the amenities of neighboring Vista Hermosa -- including its chapel, elementary school, the day-camp and kids summer programs -- whether they work for Broetje or not.

Marty Miller, executive director of the Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing in Yakima, said the interest in private-public partnerships for farmworker housing seems to be growing, especially with the added housing requirements H2A has placed on growers.

"A lot of growers who are considering on-farm housing want to have the flexibility to either serve local workers or H2A workers," he said.

The housing is in great demand -- but only for eight months of the year. Then it sits empty and doesn't pay for itself, said Bairstow.

"It's a challenge," he said.

The state partnership makes the venture more attractive by offering a "forgiven" loan that is written off as long as the housing is used as it was intended.

For Mano Mano, that means providing in-depth records to the state for the next 40 years, Bairstow said.