KINGSTON — Navy housing that provided homes to sailors and their families for about 50 years will be demolished sometime in 2007, or early 2008, paving the way for the county’s Village Green project proposed for the property.

Three of the 12 homes off West Kingston Road are still being rented, and one Navy family lives on site, said Kitsap County Facilities, Parks and Recreation maintenance and operations supervisor Beverly Reeves. But the tenants must find new residences as demolition of the homes is set to occur in the coming months.

“We’ve rented a few units on a temporary basis, and there are a couple of families already living there,” she said. “There’s actually one family, a Navy family, that’s lived there all along. He’s retiring soon, so they will be leaving also.”

Originally, the county planned to have the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority manage the homes and tenants until the buildings are razed, Reeves said. But the decision was made to expedite the demolition work after a cost analysis, said Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen.

“There were a couple of reasons we made this decision, one of which was cost,” she said. “The money it would have taken to bring the units up to standard for families to live in them wasn’t worth it. We didn’t buy the property for rental houses in the first place, we bought it for the Village Green. We knew this was going to happen.”

At the earliest, the structures will be demolished within a few months, Endresen said, but added there is no hurry to level the houses. The tenants need sufficient time to find new places to live, and many are working with the KCCHA to find homes.

“A lot of the houses need so much work, it just wasn’t a financially viable option to repair them and demolish them a few years later,” Reeves said.

The county bought the 3.6-acre property for roughly $1.75 million about a year ago, Reeves said, and will fit in the Village Green, a system of parks and open spaces that will include a new community center and senior housing.

“Actually, it would be better if the county proceeded directly to demolishing the buildings,” said Kingston Community Center Foundation president Bobbie Moore. “Otherwise they could attract vandals, if they haven’t already, and that would increase maintenance costs.”

The new Kingston Community Center and senior housing are planned to be built on property directly behind the Navy housing, providing space for a library, the North Kitsap Boys & Girls Club and a senior center.

“Eventually, we’ll help with the senior center,” said KCCHA director of multi-family housing Don Chase. “I know (KCCHA deputy executive director Roger Waid) has talked with the county about being involved with the new community center and the senior housing. We’ll be involved with the planning for both of those. The senior center will be an outgrowth of the Navy housing.”