One of the best things about living on South Whidbey Island is that close-knit feeling of a rural community that we all enjoy. It’s a feeling that has to do with belonging, with sharing values, and with being comfortable in our beautiful surroundings. It was that special
sense of South Whidbey community—and a strong desire to preserve it—that gave birth
to Goosefoot.

A conversation in the parking lot of Bayview Corner’s Cash Store in 1999 marked the start of Goosefoot. That historic Bayview building had fallen into disrepair. Its owners were considering selling it. And our community was in danger of losing a central gathering place and a piece of its history.

As long-time South Whidbey resident Nancy Nordhoff and her friend Linda Moore stood in the parking lot and considered Bayview without the Cash Store, they decided they simply could not let that happen.

From the beginning, however, Goosefoot’s mission was focused on much more than simply giving people a nice place to shop and mingle at Bayview Corner. Our goal was to work in partnership with our community to enhance the cultural, environmental and economic vitality of South Whidbey. We want to help make this a great place to live for all our residents—long-timers and newcomers, the well-to-do and the just-getting-by, the political left and the right, and those who fall somewhere in between.

We have a unique way to approach that goal. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we are responsible developers of commercial real estate property, who aim to use that property for the betterment of South Whidbey Island. This social entrepreneurship allows us to create community friendly places and to fund programs and activities—community celebrations and gatherings, support for family-owned businesses, housing and environmental stewardship—that contribute to a rich and rewarding life on South Whidbey. The goal of our development efforts lies not just in what we do with the property itself—Bayview Corner or the Sears House or the new development planned for Bayview Center—but in reinvesting eventual revenue from those efforts back into our community.

Click on these links to learn more about how we do just that.

Building place and community
Preserving rural traditions
Enhancing local commerce
Creating a sustainable future