48 Unit Building Will Be “Biggest Development to Ever Hit Twisp”
Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington (CCEW) will break ground this fall on a three story, 48-unit apartment building for low-income families and seniors. The building will be located behind Hank’s, currently occupied by an orchard.
The development will be called Stephen and Reneldes Skylstad Family Haven, in honor of former Bishop of Spokane William Skylstad’s parents, who operated an apple farm between McFarland and Gold Creeks.
Dennis Doyle, who leads the building committee at St. Genevieve Catholic Church, said the project has been in the works for over 5 years. Doyle said Hank Konrad bought the orchard behind his store from Dave Schulz for the purpose of building senior and family housing. CCEW, which is investing $20 million into the project, will manage the project completely.

According to their press release, CCEW will provide services such as healthcare, resident activities, employment assistance, mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling, family services, medical transportation, senior support, and delivery of fresh, healthy food. Additional services will be available through referrals to partner organizations. These services are in line with those provided in CCEW’s other housing communities. CCEW has built 20 such communities since 2012.
“It’s the biggest development to ever hit Twisp,” said Doyle.
The housing will be permanent with rent based on income. The community will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units and a common gathering space and playground. The building design is based on a housing community CCEW built in Colville. The apartments will also be furnished, according to Doyle. CCEW plans to break ground in the fall of 2024 and complete the project by fall of 2025. Father Pedro Bautista-Peraza will perform a land blessing and dedication in the fall of 2024 and a blessing of the project at completion in 2025.
Kelly Keenan, Chief Advancement and Impact Officer of CCEW, said the building site is a good location because it is near transportation, support services and a grocery store.
“There is a significant lack of affordable housing throughout Washington State. CCEW chose Twisp as the site for an affordable housing community because local housing studies highlighted the disproportionately high need. Additionally, CCEW commissioned a market study that confirmed there was significant need,” Keenan said in an email.
Keenan said the organization determined 48 as the appropriate number of units based on the market study. “It is also the right number of units to operate efficiently while having necessary density to support onsite services,” he said.
Housing and services will be open to people of all faiths or no faith, according to Keenan. “There won’t be a requirement to participate in Catholic or any other religious activities,” he said.
Doyle welcomes the development. “Probably the best thing that’s happened to the valley.”
The development comes at the same time as the Methow Housing Trust is building a development called Cascades Meadows North, which will have 24 single family homes on an 8.4 acre site and a 22 unit multi-family housing development which will be owned and operated by the Housing Authority of Okanogan County.
Doyle puts the growth in perspective but wonders if there will be enough employment for residents. “Twisp used to be a very big town. They had over 2,000 residents. After the mill [closed], they lost all of their jobs. Right now, they are building all of this housing, putting in all these projects but they still have no employment. We need jobs.”
When asked if this housing project is going to solve a problem or just have more people living with the problem, Doyle responded, “I hope it solves a problem, but I don’t know where they are all going to work.” He said the project could provide housing for people currently commuting from Okanogan and Bridgeport to work in the valley. “Will they take some of this housing? Possibly. They would save a tremendous amount by moving here,” he said.
The Twisp development will also include a new Parish Hall. The Parish Hall in the basement of St. Genevieve’s can accommodate only 40 of the 120 people that regularly attend church service. Doyle estimates that the new Parish Hall could fit 2/3 of the current congregation, or about 80 people.
Doyle is thinking about the future. “Right now, we’ve got a really growing church. I think we’ve got 30-35 young people under the age of 16. They’re all going to grow up and have families. The church is not big enough but we have to have a Parish Hall built so they can spend time there and have services there while they expand this church.” However, Doyle said he doesn’t expect an expansion of the church building any time soon.
Good news!! Thank you for this.
Catholic Charities greatly enables illegal immigration and gets matching grants from the government to do so.
I know Twisp will welcome their new neighbors; but I hope all who wish to, will be able to find work.