All homeowners belong to the Highlands Community Association with modest assessments ($680 per year) that cover maintenance of common areas and parks. In addition, some neighborhoods within Issaquah Highlands have assessments that help maintain common areas, and of course, condominiums have associations that maintain funds for common area maintenance and regular replacement items such as roofs.
Your homebuilder representative is your best source of up-to-date information about neighborhood or condominium association dues. Judy Harris at the Information Center can help you with current Community Association dues.
Grand Ridge Elementary School opened in September 2006 and is located off of Park Drive. The middle school is Issaquah Middle School and the high school is Issaquah High School.
A new Issaquah Highlands campus of Lakeside Montessori School opened in 2005. The school is located in the original Information Center on 15th Avenue N.E. Their phone number is 425-392-0100.
A 9th Grade Campus planned for downtown Issaquah is the result of extensive studies on the expected district student population and the special educational needs of this age group of students.
More information can be found on the Issaquah School District website at www.issaquah.wednet.edu.
Issaquah Highlands has three City of Issaquah parks within the community boundaries and all parks, trails and open spaces within Issaquah Highlands are open to the public.
Below is a chart showing Issaquah Highlands parks and their amenities. Please refer to the community map for park locations.
Park
Ownership
Acres
Activities
Grand Ridge Park
King County
1,400.00
Trails & Open Space
Central Park
City of Issaquah
47.57
2 Play area
Picnic Area
3 Baseball fields
5 soccer fields
4 tennis courts
1 Basket ball/Sport Court
Grandview Park
City of Issaquah
10.96
Short term - open fields for recreation
Future - baseball/soccer fields
Black Nugget Park
City of Issaquah
2.97
1 Play area
1 Basketball Court
2 Tennis Courts
BPA easement area
City of Issaquah
8.68
Community Garden
Off-Leash area
2 Picnic Areas
Bike Path
Ashland Park
IH HOA
0.99
1 Play area
Firehouse Park
IH HOA
0.23
1 Play area
1 Sport Court
Village Green
IH HOA
0.82
Logan Park
IH HOA
0.76
1 Play area
The Greens
IH HOA
1.03
Summit Park
IH HOA
1.89
1 Play area
Davis Park
IH HOA
0.48
North Park Mini-Park
IH HOA
1.61
1 Play area
Covered Picnic area
Linear Park
IH HOA
6.38
1 Play area
Magnolia Park
IH HOA
0.95
1 Play area
Basketball
Hillcrest Park
IH HOA
0.93
Div 92 Park
IH HOA
0.75
Village Walk
IH HOA
0.27
Waterhouse Plaza
0.11
1 Sport Court
Total Acres: 1,487.38
Issaquah Highlands Parks: 642 Acres
You can suggest to your customer that they visit the Information Center and review the large site plan table to get a good idea of the parks, trails and open spaces of Issaquah Highlands.
If you like to hike, walk, run or bike, Issaquah Highlands is the place for you. The neighborhoods are laced with sidewalks and trails that lead to the trail network that takes you into King County's 1,400 acres of open space that surround Issaquah Highlands. Many Highlands residents are hard at work designing, constructing and maintaining this trail system. New connections are being made all the time that will connect Issaquah Highlands with other major regional trails systems, such as the Preston Trail, throughout the foothills, Cascades, and the nearby Squak, Tiger and Cougar Mountain wilderness areas.
The Issaquah Highlands Trails Committee, with help from the City of Issaquah, maintains the trails within the community. King County trails are maintained by a separate King County trail group.
Trail and general community safety is important to everyone. Issaquah Highlands residents report this is a safe and inviting place to live. To keep it that way it is important that any safety hazard or suspicious behavior be reported to the proper authorities.
A trail map is included in the Issaquah Highland marketing newsletter and there are four trail head markers that also include trail maps. Their location is also indicated on the master plan map in the marketing newsletter.
During the planning phase for Issaquah Highlands many traffic studies were done projecting traffic loads twenty years in the future. Traffic planning for Issaquah Highlands includes one-way streets, couplets and synchronized traffic lights to assure a smooth flow of traffic well beyond the final build-out of Issaquah Highlands.
While we cannot predict future home values, we can share some history. Since Issaquah Highlands was first opened, property owners have seen consistent increases in their home values. This includes the homes that are adjacent to the 333 apartment homes already in place in Issaquah Highlands. All housing and commercial development, whether for rent or for sale, must meet the same rigorous standards of architectural and environmental controls. This is another case of the master plan protecting the interests of all residents - current and future.
There are many great golf courses, both private and public nearby! Here are some of our favorites: The Golf Club at Newcastle, Sahalee, Overlake, Tall Chief in Fall City, Snoqualmie Falls, Mt. Si Golf Course in Issaquah, Plateau Golf and Country Club.
Issaquah Highlands has adopted what is known as an urban village approach to land planning. The advantages of an urban village are many and among them are that they allow for a large part of the available land to be permanently set aside for park, trails and other common amenities. It is also a pedestrian-oriented approach to planning which makes it inviting to get out and get around. The residents at Issaquah Highlands feel that the small yards are a good trade off for the many parks and playgrounds they have access to, and it also means, for many of them, less time and money spent maintaining large lawn spaces. There are many avid gardeners in Issaquah Highlands who have done wonders with their patios, back yards and side yards.
The City of Issaquah has a pool complex that is very easy to access for Highlands residents. A group of Issaquah Highlands residents have joined with other Issaquah area residents to explore the interest in building a second pool in or near Issaquah Highlands. They are working with the Parks Department on feasibility issues.
Many Issaquah Highlands residents are engaged in efforts like pool and park planning, helping to shape the future of Issaquah Highlands and the City of Issaquah.
Washington State building codes have stringent standards to protect citizens in case of an earthquake. All homes in Issaquah Highlands are built to meet or exceed building codes, which give them a substantial advantage over older homes.
We suggest you contact your homebuilder about specifics of the home you are considering.
This question is best answered by some of the residents who live here. On the Issaquah Highlands DVD one resident tells of throwing a Thanksgiving dinner party she described as a "mini United Nations." Issaquah Highlands has been designed to attract diversity and most of our residents point to that as a main appeal. In Issaquah Highlands you are likely to find a diversity of age, origin, income, ethnicity and interests. It makes this community a much more interesting place to live.
The DVD available at the Information Center and to our homebuilders has 34 mini-movies where Highlands residents use their own words and experiences to let newcomers know what its like to live here. Make sure your customer gets a copy.
One of the nicest things about life in Issaquah Highlands is that ideas like this have a way of becoming a reality. The Highlands residents are very active and involved through their community Association. When there is enough strong interest in an idea it has a tendency to take flight.
The Swedish Hospital emergency room will open in February 2005 and is located right across from the entrance to Lake Sammamish State Park. Overlake Hospital is in downtown Bellevue, about a 20-minute drive in normal traffic.
Blakely Hall can facilitate groups of up to approximately 200 people as a multi-use facility with a variety of meeting rooms, association staff offices, multipurpose room, and a demonstration kitchen. Blakely Hall is the official home of The Highlands Council and Issaquah Highlands Residential Association.
For information about and reservations to use Blakely Hall, please Click Here.
Nearly 75% of the available land has been dedicated to open space and parks. The total available land is 2,200 acres. Fourteen hundred acres was deeded to King County as permanent open space and another 100 acres is being used for city and neighborhood parks.
The original development agreement with the City of Issaquah calls for a total of 3,250 dwelling units. That number may change with the reconfiguration of some of the commercial space.
Come into the Community Center in Blakely Hall or checkout the monthly edition of the Connections community newsletter. There is a calendar of events with a whole article on kid connections. Activities include: Wobblers Playgroup, Kids Night Out, a Homeschoolers activity group.
The monthly Connections community newsletter is your source for current information of this type. Some services include: discount movie tickets, notary services, dry cleaning pick up and delivery, fax sending and receiving.
A good place for new residents to start meeting people is to start with a visit to Blakely Hall to get the know the Community Association staff, read the bulletin boards and pick up a copy of the Connections community newsletter. A calendar of events lists many of the opportunities to meet neighbors such as like scrapbook parties, book clubs, investment clubs, block parties, home churches and many others.
The library is very close. As you leave Issaquah Highlands, go south on NE Highlands Drive, as if you were heading for the freeway. Instead of getting on the freeway, go straight onto Sunset. The library is straight ahead on your right.
Port Blakely Real Estate Services hired a very professional, educated and knowledgeable staff, which specializes in association management for this community. Issaquah Highlands Community Association (IHCA) manages the neighborhood and condominium associations as well. The benefit to the neighborhoods is not only the professional staff on site and readily available, but the economy of scale in negotiating services for Issaquah Highlands.
The Community Association does have Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) along with Rules and Regulations to provide guidance and consistency for the community and the staff. Issaquah Highlands rarely has violation issues as residents of our community appreciate these community standards, which result in increased property values for all. Should the need arise to protect our homeowners' interests, these rules will be adhered to.
