Controversy has emerged around two waterfront properties Western Washington University has targeted to sell amid an ongoing budget deficit.
The decision has generated complaints, with questions raised about the university’s right to sell one property on San Juan Island, and concerns about the environmental and social impact of selling a historical parcel on Sinclair Island.
The San Juan Island property on the northwest side of the island, donated to the university in 1996, was never to be sold and was to be conveyed to the San Juan Preservation Trust if the university decided one day it didn’t need the property, according to the agreement obtained by Cascadia Daily News. Neighboring properties are appraised at more than $1 million.
The second property on Sinclair Island, known as the ViQueen Lodge, was listed for sale on Aug. 9 as two parcels for close to $1.1 million combined. Offers for the house and the adjacent plot of land will be reviewed by Western by Aug. 16.
Director of Communications Jonathan Higgins said on Tuesday, Aug. 13 that Western is working with the trust and relevant state or local government entities on the San Juan Island property “to find a legal path forward that will honor the original donor’s intent.”
Friends of Dr. Patricia Swenson, who donated the San Juan Island property to the university, say selling the property wouldn’t uphold their late friend’s wishes.
The university has been in conversations with the trust since the spring, but the Trust’s Director of Communications Kelvin Baker told CDN July 10 that the trust would have to purchase the property at market price. On Aug. 14, Baker added that the trust’s legal team is evaluating the situation.
Dorothy Goldsmith, the wife of the late Chris Goldsmith, who was Western’s alumni director at the time of the donation, said she went with her husband to view the site when Swenson was intending to donate it to Western.
“She made it very, very clear on that day and afterwards that no, it was never to be sold,” she said. Goldsmith said Swenson, a member of the university’s alumni board, was a “forceful” person and would be “furious” to hear Western was trying to sell the property at 1725 Yacht Haven Road.
Sinclair Island residents, meanwhile, are upset over the university’s intention to sell the ViQueen Lodge, which students, alumni and community members have been using for decades for outdoor recreation. The property went on the market Friday, Aug. 9 amid questions from Cascadia Daily News about the sale.
Sinclair Island residents received emails from Western’s Assistant Vice President of Finance and Business Services Andrea Rodger saying the university would consider the community’s values when choosing a buyer.
The parcels were among six properties that Western’s Board of Trustees approved to sell in June as part of a strategy to overcome the budget deficit. The proceeds from the two properties in question are intended to be used to establish endowments for Shannon Point Marine Center operations and preservation; and student clubs and activities, according to the university.
San Juan Island property
Old friends of Swenson’s, who were also involved in the donation of her property to the university, are perplexed by Western trying to sell, not donate, the property to the trust. They say that her intention was never that Western would benefit financially from the property.
Steven Inge, a former director of alumni engagement at Western who was involved in the donation, said Swenson had a strong “emotional investment” in the property and was adamant that it stay in as natural a state as possible. Swenson’s father had lived in a log cabin on the property, Inge said.
Swenson died in 2010. She was on Western’s Alumni Board at the time of her donation.
The conditions of the agreement state that the property was intended to be used for research and study and remain essentially undeveloped in its current state, except for additional facilities needed for research and study activities. The tidelands were also intended to be protected from construction.
Anna Cashman, a trust and estates attorney at KHBB Law in Seattle, said from her reading of the agreement, Western should not profit off of the property, “nor can they transfer it except to the San Juan Preservation Trust.”
Cashman said if the Trust didn’t want the property or couldn’t take it, Western would have to discuss the next best thing that aligned with Swenson’s wishes.
Baker said the Trust is working through its “standard conservation assessment and legal review process.” He said this could take between 12 and 24 months. Baker noted that the Trust was not part of deed discussions between Western and the donor and they learned “about this property and situation for the first time very recently.”
Higgins did not reply to questions on what legal grounds the university might have to sell the property.
Sinclair Island property
On Sinclair Island, residents have emailed university officials saying they are disappointed and concerned with Western’s decision to sell ViQueen Lodge.
The property was purchased in 1928 by the Women’s Athletic Association of the Bellingham Normal School, now known as Western. Over the years, usage has been sporadic, according to a history of the property on Western’s website. In the last few years, the lodge received facility upgrades and reopened to general use for students, staff, faculty and alumni in summer 2022.
Adrienne Howe’s family has owned property on Sinclair since the 1980s.
“I’m just one of the many people who can’t believe that this historical piece of Sinclair is going to go to the highest bidder,” Howe said.
Howe said the lodge has become part of the culture and history of Sinclair. She said her oldest child grew up walking around the lodge and on the property, prompting him to go to Western for college.
“That’s a story that is part of our family history,” she said.
Water is also a concern. The ViQueen Lodge is located at 2225 Leadbetter Pl. in the Leadbetter Estates, where water is a “finite resource,” Howe said. Residents are worried by the potential that the property could be divided up and owners could dig new wells.
Ferdi Businger, another Sinclair Island resident, suggested that part of the property could be donated to the San Juan Preservation Trust, or the university could put a conservation easement on part of the property to reduce the potential impact on the water supply.
Dr. Christopher Edwards, who previously worked at Western in the Counseling and Wellness Center, said he thought selling the property is a “poor decision.”
He said in his work at Western, the university emphasized the benefits of the environment on student health and wellbeing. He said the lodge provides a place for students to connect with the environment and with each other.
“It’s ultimately a detriment to the students because it’s such a unique and valuable asset in allowing them to connect with one another.”
Pete Grimlund, whose family has owned property on Sinclair since 1965, said for the most part, the university community has been “good stewards” of the land and it’s been a “valuable resource for the students, faculty and alumni.” He said he was very disappointed in the sale.
“I took it as taking something out of the semi-public domain for the benefit of a larger group of people and putting it into the hands of a private individual, which to me, diminishes the greater good,” he said.
Students expressed early opposition to the plan as well.
A petition in February cautioned the Board of Trustees against approving the sale of the property due to its ongoing use by Western’s Outdoor Recreation Center.
“This lodge is not just a building; it’s a part of our community history. It has been serving students for almost a century, offering them an escape from the everyday hustle of student life into nature’s embrace,” the petition read. “We believe that preserving this historical site will not only honor our past but also enrich future generations’ experiences at WWU. We urge WWU to consider alternatives to any plans that might lead to losing this precious piece of history.”
In an email to Sinclair Island residents, Rodger wrote that Western decided to sell the property due to the ongoing “low utilization” of the property, the “liability” the university faces if a student or visitor gets hurt traveling to and from the property, and a lack of resources to maintain the property.
Rodger requested feedback from Sinclair Island residents to “attract a buyer consistent with the communities’ values.” The two listings include one for the 9.43 acres the lodge sits on, and another for the 2.54 acres of “raw land.”
In an Aug. 10 email to residents, Rodger said Western is “committed to being thoughtful about the community’s needs as we move forward with this process.”
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
