Governors Point has been donated by a private owner to conserve undeveloped land on the Chuckanut Bay shoreline.
Randy Bishop, a Canadian business owner living in White Rock, bought Governor’s Point in 2018 for $5.7 million. At the time, his plans for the wooded little peninsula south of Bellingham, Washington were to build a development of 16 high-end “architecturally rich” homes, and to set aside two-thirds of the 125-acre parcel for a natural preserve. When Bishop lived in Bellingham in the past, he was in love with thee trails and pocket beaches of the Chuckanut Bay area.
He hasn’t built his 16 homes yet, but on Wednesday, Bishop signed over ownership of 98 acres, including almost two miles of marine shoreline with two beaches, to the Whatcom Land Trust, an organization which protects and ensures public access to undeveloped land around Bellingham and the north Cascades.
“After purchasing the property, Randy Bishop sought out the Land Trust. Rather than telling us what he might be willing to do, Bishop asked, “what does the Land Trust want on Governors Point.” The question started a conversation about a nature reserve with significant conservation and public access values,” says the WLT’s website about the donation. The WLT and Bishop will work together to make Governors Point a place where anyone can walk down to the water and enjoy everything that Bishop loves about Whatcom Bay. Plans so far include accessible trails that connect a trail-head off nearby Pleasant Bay Road to the east and west beaches on the peninsula.
Randy Bishop co-owns two design and manufacturing companies; Bocci which is based in Vancouver and Berlin, and specializes in large, sculptural lighting installations, and Omer Arbel Office, which is a design studio working in architecture, sculpture, and interior design. The 16 “small footprint” homes he intends to build over many years on the 27 acres he retained are sure to be works of art.