“I know every rock and bush here,” said Jai Boreen, speaking of the 15 acres he and his family recently sold to the San Juan Community Home Trust. Boreen and his partner, Bequin, have lived on this land for over a decade and have, with their four sons, built a small paradise dubbed Missing Mountain Farm. This name refers to Bald Hill, which once loomed over the southern portion of the property. Boreen remembers it being “as steep as the gravel it was made of would allow.”
Standing on the newly annexed “Sunrise” property, it’s hard to believe that this rural land of yellow grass, willow trees and seasonal dust is now within the town limits of busy Friday Harbor. It’s harder still to imagine that by this time next year, these mellow 5.12 acres of the former Buck/Boreen property will be transformed into an active, community hub complete with 14 new family homes and a trail connecting town to Jackson’s Beach. And that is just the first phase.
