Oly Ecosystems says it has historic home, property under contract on West Bay Drive
The Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation, an environmental group perhaps best known for its opposition to the mixed-use West Bay Yards project on Olympia’s Budd Inlet, has announced that it has a historic property under contract.
The 5,500-square-foot home at 1205 West Bay Drive is known as Lane House, or Seven Gables. The house occupies 1.3 acres of undeveloped property, which is surrounded by the West Bay Woods conservation area — an area that Oly Ecosystems is already trying to preserve.
“The structure is listed on the State Register of Historic Homes,” Oly Ecosystems board president Daniel Einstein said in an email. “However, that offers no meaningful protection against eventual demolition, and minus the structure, the property would be a prime location for additional condominiums or apartments. Such a result would severely compromise the conservation value of the West Bay Woods and forever erase the historic character of the hillside.”
Although Oly Ecosystems has the property under contract, the nonprofit is still raising funds for the negotiated $825,000 sales price, he said.
“We have not raised all of the funds necessary to go through with the purchase, but hope to have them in hand by Oct. 24 when our feasibility period ends,” Einstein said.
If Oly Ecosystems is able to secure the property, it intends to use it as a shared office space for local and regional environmental organizations, creating a new Center for Urban Conservancy, he said.
Interested in donating? Contact Daniel Einstein at daniel@olyecosystems.org.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
