By Lindsay Peyton

There’s still hope for the Urban Homestead Foundation.

The nonprofit group was formed in an effort to rescue a lot on the corner of 50 Ave SW and SW Dakota St, a decommissioned substation from Seattle City Light, dotted with trees and awaiting development.

Instead of being cleared for building, the group’s plans for the land included transforming it into a center for nature, learning and community.

The only problem was the price of the property, totaling $650,000, and the tight deadline given to come up with the money.

Now, the Urban Homestead Foundation has an extended timeline and a new team leading the effort.

Rich Sheibley joined the board at the end of last year, when the group was in a mad dash to raise the last $300,000 needed for the project. He now serves as board president, taking over for Katie Stemp.

Stemp first discovered the 10,000 sq. ft. space about two years ago, when it came up for sale by the City of Seattle.

The property houses an urban forest grove, and Stemp wanted to save the trees. She also drew up designs to transform the property into a green space, complete with gardens, greenhouse, fruit orchard, workshop space, park benches and an outdoor cob oven.

At that time, the Seattle City Council agreed to allow an extension of the sale date until the end of 2017, if the community organization could raise the funding needed.

Stemp joined with Kristen Bedford and Phoebe Ingraham to create a nonprofit to meet the city’s requirements--the Urban Homestead Foundation. The founders named the project the “Dakota Homestead Site.”

Sheibley’s children went to school with Stemp’s and Bedford’s at nearby Genessee Hill. He shares their enthusiasm for preserving greenspace in the neighborhood, promoting sustainability and creating opportunities for children to learn about nature in West Seattle.

“The end of last year was stressful,” Sheibley said. “We thought we only had until the end of December.”

The nonprofit was then granted an extension until March, which has since been further lengthened to the end of 2018.

Sheibley has spent the past couple of months trying to get the word out about the extra time.

He was also able to secure an extension for the original King Conservation Futures Grant for half the asking price of the property.

“When they applied for the grant, the purchase price was less,” Sheibley said. “Then Seattle City Light did a reappraisal and the price went up.”

In March, King Conservation Futures Grant upped its donation to still equal half the required cost.