The Land Bank has received approval on several land and easement purchases that will preserve pieces of Friday Harbor’s heritage and boost economic opportunities for the agricultural community.

It also ensures the town, whose real estate sales contribute a good chunk of excise tax to the Land Bank, gets a return on the investment.

The Land Bank proposes partnering with the town and the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild to purchase the Friday Harbor Electric site on Nichols Street and Sunshine Alley for $1 million. The town and Ag Guild would contribute a total of $600,000 for the building and land; the Land Bank would contribute $400,000 and would receive a historical preservation easement in return.

Here’s what residents would get: A permanent year-round farmers market location in a historically significant building that would be preserved. The barn-like building originally housed the a brick and tile company that manufactured distinctive cement blocks used to build Town Hall and other Friday Harbor buildings.

The Land Bank also proposes buying a historical preservation easement on the San Juan Historical Museum on Price Street for $200,000. The museum would use the funds to restore the 1894 King Farm House, the centerpiece of the museum grounds. After restoration, the museum would use the remainder of the funds to establish a maintenance fund for the building.

The museum is the last remnant of the once expansive King farm. It is a piece of rural Friday Harbor in an urban neighborhood, and is an educational and recreational venue for the community.

The Land Bank also proposes buying, for $2.1 million, 200 acres in San Juan Valley formerly owned by the late Wade Sundstrom. The purchase would be made in partnership with the San Juan Preservation Trust. The property would be offered for resale under the Land Bank’s conservation buyers’ program, with conservation easements attached.

The Land Bank also proposes buying a conservation easement at Heritage Farm on Cattle Point Road.

These are good purchases for Friday Harbor and San Juan Island.