Opal Commons: 18 Homes on 7 Acres Between Blanchard Road and Seaview Street in Eastsound

Completed in 1994, OPAL’s first neighborhood clusters 18 homes on seven acres, with a large shared food garden and plenty of common space. Placing parking around the perimeter creates a strong sense of community. Four two-story-house types accommodate families of from one to five people, from infants to seniors. Each family has personalized their home with interior decorations, gardens, and additions. Homes range in size from 816 to 1,312 sq. ft. Mortgages range from $60,000 to $140,000. Monthly payments range from $350 to $800.

“The core group of Opal Commons’ founders had in mind not a neighborhood, but a village, with all the connotations that old word has. That decision, and development of the site as continuous unbroken space, enhances every aspect of living together.”
—Ian Van Gelder, acupuncturist, father and Opal Commons homeowner

In 1995 The Opal Commons neighborhood was awarded an Honorable Mention by the Fannie Mae Maxwell Awards for Excellence.

The Opal Commons neighborhood has been published in Good Neighbors: Affordable Family Housing, 1997, Tom Jones, et al, McGraw Hill.

The homeowners of each OPAL neighborhood adopt their own neighborhood rules. Here are the Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions for Opal Commons.