BUILDERS TEAM UP TO CREATE A TRUE COMMUNITY SPIRIT

There was an era when the word neighbor was simply a synonym for friend. People took the time to stop and chat when you were in your front yard or passing by on the sidewalk. They not only asked how you were, they actually wanted to hear the answer.

At Issaquah Highlands, that time is now.

When complete in the next few years, Issaquah Highlands will have more than 3,200 homes built by some of the region’s most respected builders, including Bennett Homes, CamWest, DR Horton, GMP Homes, Greacen Construction, John F. Buchan Homes, Noland Homes, Rainier Homes, Specialized Homes, Steve Burnstead Construction and William Buchan.

From its earliest planning stages, Issaquah Highlands was built as an “intentional community” – designed in such a way to promote and encourage social interaction. Patterned after a traditional, pedestrian-friendly town with narrow streets, inviting front porches and wide sidewalks, it includes more than 1,500 acres of parks, playgrounds and open spaces, an off-leash dog park, community gathering hall, elementary school, park-and-ride and firehouse. In addition, at its entrance is the High Street retail village.

Residents also participate in community clubs or groups such as book clubs or poker nights and enjoy community celebrations and special events, including block parties, holiday festivities, and outdoor concerts or movies.

“While we provided the framework for a very socially active community, our residents have really embraced and carried that vision to the next level,” says Judd Kirk, president of Port Blakely Communities, Issaquah Highlands’ developer.

Because the homebuilders have designed a variety of home types and price ranges, including rental, market rate and affordable single- and multifamily homes, Issaquah Highlands is uniquely diverse in its demographics, attracting people of varied ages, incomes and ethnicities at every stage of life – young families, empty nesters, singles, seniors, professionals, telecommuters and stay-at-home parents. In fact, it’s not uncommon for multiple generations within one family to call Issaquah Highlands home.

Neighborhoods currently for sale within the community range from an intimate townhome enclave priced in the $500,000s to the grand, view homes of Harrison Street and estate-sized custom homes of Grand Ridge Drive. With homes priced over $2 million, the two neighborhoods were designed to be reminiscent of Seattle’s “legacy” neighborhoods such as Magnolia or Laurelhurst. The developer hand-selected renowned architects to design these homes — including AOME Architects, Baylis Architects, Curtis Gelotte Architects, Demetriou Architects, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects and Stuart Silk Architects - and the top builders to craft the homes - including Aspen Homes, Bender Chaffey Corporation, Ben Leland Homes, Owen Roberts Group, Sinclair Thimgan Homes, and Regency West.

Underscoring every decision made in designing and building Issaquah Highlands has been the developer’s strong commitment to environmental stewardship. The community raised the bar for sustainability, requiring all of its homebuilders to meet the highest standards in green building. Currently, all of the homes are being built to Built Green 4-Star level of efficiency and certified as an Energy Star home or equivalent so that at final build-out, there will be 2,500 Energy Star certified homes at Issaquah Highlands. And the commitment to “green” is not solely for the homes. Both its community center, Blakely Hall, and its firehouse are LEED Silver Certified.

“Regard for the environment is at the very core of every Port Blakely community,” says Kirk. “We firmly believe that it’s the only responsible way to build. And to our delight, our residents have taken up the call for environmental responsibility as well. This year, we’ll have our third annual Arbor Day Celebration and all of our homeowners receive training in water conservation.”

The community has continually been recognized for its distinctive approach to community building. Its many awards include a Gold Nugget Award for its innovative design of a sustainable Built Green home, a Silver Award for Master Planned Community of the Year by the National Association of Homebuilders, and two Green Globes by the Green Building Initiative. Most recently the community was recognized for Best Sustainable Community and Best Master Planned Community by the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.

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