Homes for the Holidays.  It’s a powerful emotion.  And nowhere in the Northwest is this lived out more than at Issaquah Highlands. It’s a placewhere neighbors know each other and celebrate together every chance they get.  Today, you can experience this special Holiday spirit with a visit to this holiday wonderland. “Issaquah Highlands celebrates a return to a time when your neighbors were really an extension of your family. I think this is especially important during the holiday season. Our residents come together to celebrate. Last Sunday, we held our annual Christmas Festival which included horse-drawn carriage rides, live music, lots of food and a live nativity—complete with camel—and tomorrow we’ll come together for the community Chanukah Celebration which includes lighting the Pacific Northwest’s tallest candy menorah. Issaquah Highlands is just such a uniquely inclusive community,” says Genni Reilly, vice president of marketing for Port Blakely Communities, Inc., the developer of Issaquah Highlands.

Both neighborhood and home have a powerful sentimental pull during the holiday season as gatherings of families and friends amidst festive decorations remind us of our connections with one another. To visitors get a true feel for Issaquah Highlands’ warmth and charm you are invited to its popular Second Saturday Home Tour, with a Homes for the Holiday’s theme, today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can stop off at the Issaquah Highlands Information Center to pick up a free tour map.

In honor of the season, many of the builders are offering special holiday incentives. The Burnsteads’ new home neighborhoods are collecting non-perishable food items for Northwest Harvest plus making a $5 donation for each visitor group to their model homes this weekend. For every new Burnstead home sold at Issaquah Highlands in December, the Burnsteads will donate $1,000 in the homebuyer’s name to Northwest Harvest. Bennett Homes and CamWest at West Highlands Park will donate $750 to the Issaquah Food Bank on all homes that close on or before December 31, 2009. In addition, D.R. Horton’s Vista Park collection is offering zero closing costs to all new homebuyers who close on their homes before December 31, 2009 plus a special move-in package that includes a washer, dryer, refrigerator, garage door opener, window screens, fencing, landscaping and a 10-year warranty. And John F. Buchan Homes will be offering zero closing costs on all homes that close on or before January 31, 2010.

Picture yourself touring a community where you’ll find new and resale homes available priced from just under $200,000 to well over $2 million. Buyers looking to purchase a brand new home have their choice of designs from some of our region’s most noted homebuilders, including Anderson Tedrick Homes, Aspen Homes, Atlin Investments, Bennett Homes, The Burnsteads, CamWest, Design Guild Homes, D.R. Horton, John F. Buchan, Noland Homes, Regency West and Sinclair Thimgan.

“Whether you’re looking to purchase your first home or interested in custom building your dream home, Issaquah Highlands has a neighborhood for you. The Second Saturday Home Tour is an opportunity for buyers to tour every new home, as well as most resale homes. This is the perfect month to get a true sense of how our residents come together as one community,” notes Reilly.

“Not only do we have the best residents, we also have recruited the best homebuilders,” says Reilly. “They truly care about their homeowners and the community as a whole.”

A pioneer in the sustainable building and design movement, Port Blakely set aside 1,400 acres of naturally preserved land and 100 acres of parks for homeowners to enjoy and cherish. Choosing builders that embrace their environmental sensibilities, they have continued to push the green envelope, introducing groundbreaking designs such as the 2003 Built Green® Idea Home; a 5-star Built Green, American Lung Association Certified home that features allergen-free materials; and the zHome collection—the first multi-family development in the nation that uses no more energy than it generates.

As a result, the community continues to receive global recognition for its community planning and execution.  Just this month, the National Associate of Home Builders announced that Issaquah Highlands was name a finalist for “American’s Community of the Year for 2010” as a part of The Nationals awards program.

Promoting a car-free lifestyle, the Issaquah Highlands community offers amenities like the High Street Retail Village which features popular restaurants and services like Sip! Wine Bar & Restaurant, Caffe Ladro, Highlands Cleaners, Le Chic Pet Boutique & Spa, Sorella Salon & Spa, Zeek’s Pizza and Agave Cocina & Tequilas. The village will eventually expand to become part of a destination retail center with approximately 500,000 square feet of retail space, including a 40,000-square-foot grocery store. And for those who commute to work, there is a Park-&-Ride transit center conveniently located at the community’s entrance.

“I really encourage you to come out today to explore our neighborhoods. Get out of your car. Take a hike on one of our wooded trails. Grab a bite to eat in the village. Truly get a feel for the lifestyle we offer here. There really isn’t anything else that compares,” says Reilly.

For more information on Issaquah Highlands, its neighborhoods and homebuilders, visit www.issaquahhighlands.com.

View these homes:

Information Center Hours: Wednesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

1011 NE High Street, Suite 100

From I-90: Take the Highlands Drive/Sunset Interchange (Exit #18). Follow Highlands Dr. up the hill and turn right on NE High Street. Follow the signs to the New Home Info Center.

For more info:

www.issaquahhighlands.com

206-701-0350

Washington, D.C., 2009   Issaquah Highlands, an urban village community in Issaquah, Washington, was named a Silver Award Winner and finalist for the Community of the Year Award from the National Association of Home Builders. The award will be be presented at The Nationals Awards ceremony at the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas on January 19, 2010.   Only four communities in the nation are recognized in 2010.  Along with Issaquah Highlands, the other Silver Award winning communities are Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas; Daybreak, Salt Lake City, Utah; and Villebois, Wilsonville, Oregon.

“Port Blakely Communities is honored to receive this recognition that reflects so positively on Issaquah Highlands’ residents, homebuilders and the development team that has created a vibrant, active and environmentally sustainable community,” said Genni Reilly, vice president of leasing and marketing, Port Blakely Communities – developer of Issaquah Highlands. “What pleases us most is the fact that now, in the community’s 10^th year, Issaquah Highlands is still receiving national recognition for its innovation, quality of life and contribution for being part of the solution to regional growth management issues.”

Located 20 minutes outside Seattle, Issaquah Highlands is a Built Green an urban village that includes more than 3,000 homes, a retail and commercial district, more than 10 miles of hiking trails, and more than 100 acres for parks, recreation and sports fields – all concentrated in only 780 acres of the total 2,200 acres. Now in its second decade, the community continues to grow. Most recently, Swedish – the largest nonprofit health provider in the Greater Seattle area – broke ground on a 20-acre hospital campus in the heart of Issaquah Highlands. In addition, the YWCA of Seattle-King-Snohomish also broke ground on a 2.4 acre Family Village that will feature affordable housing for more than 400 residents.

As the nation’s largest competition, now in its 28th year, The Nationals pays tribute to superior achievements by new-home sales and marketing professionals and communities and is presented by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  It is the only competition of its kind that is National and International in scope. Entrants are judged by a panel of recognized industry professionals representing the many disciplines involved in creating new home communities.

For more information, visit www.issaquahhighlands.com and www.portblakely.com.

The YWCA Family Village at Issaquah, located at Highlands Drive NE and High Street NE, is an innovative, large-scale, environmentally progressive project designed to meet the Eastside’s needs for affordable housing and family services.

With 146 apartments for working families, child care and social services, the Family Village is leading the way for communities in this region and across the country to integrate affordable housing and family services into planned communities.

YWCA Family Village at Issaquah will be home to approximately 400 people – working families, people with disabilities and seniors who are seeking an affordable place to live, raise children, age comfortably, build fulfilling lives and contribute to their community.

The environmentally sustainable project will provide 146 apartments, ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom units.

The bulk of construction will occur in 2010 with families moving in the following year. The development will be a beautiful, seamless and comfortable “fit” within the existing master-planned community of Issaquah Highlands. Residential spaces, walkways and gathering areas will help foster a sense of place and neighborhood.

The YWCA is dedicated to strengthening the independence and stability of all community members.
• Parenting classes, job training, computer education and more.
• High-quality affordable child care with an estimated 150 spots for infants to school-aged children.
• Community meeting and outdoor gathering spaces, specifically requested by the Issaquah community, with safe pedestrian access to a King County transit hub.

• The City of Issaquah, through agreements with Port Blakely Communities which developed the Issaquah Highlands master-planned community, donated the parcel of land. The value of the land and in-kind support provided by the City exceeds $7 million.
• The YWCA is launching a $12 million capital campaign to help build and operate Family Village.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1 million.
• Eastside cities contributed $1.5 million through their housing coalition.
• King County provided $2.25 million through direct support and credit enhancement.
• Washington State Housing Finance Commission awarded $12.6 million in federal stimulus dollars and $4 million in a tax credit equity allocation.
• The State Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund joined in with $4 million.
• King County Housing Authority brings its ability to issue bonds and rent subsidies for qualified households.

For more information on the project and to keep up to date on the construction by subscribing to our RSS feed, please visit: www.ywcaworks.org

The YWCA’s mission is to advance the quality of life for women of all ages, races and faiths, and their families. In support of this mission, the YWCA provides services to meet critical needs, promote self-sufficiency, reduce violence,
eliminate racism and achieve equal opportunities for all people. These values are the foundation of the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah.

Read More about the YWCA Family Village.

This year Alathia Community Church, with the help of many generous community leaders and sponsors, is putting on a Christmas festival for the community. This year our theme remains “Give a Life Changing Gift for Christmas.” Adults and children alike will love the free concert put on by jazz recording artist Gail Pettis. Festival attendees will witness a living nativity complete with an angel perched atop a 4 story building and a stable including an 8 foot tall camel.

The festival will also include hay rides, pictures with Santa, as well as Christmas themed crafts and activities for the kids. All proceeds raised from this year’s festival will be donated to World Vision— and used to help people trapped in poverty and/or desperate social situations. World Vision is an impressive Non-Government Organization (NGO) that helps about 100 million people in nearly 100 countries on 5 continents. They focus on child sponsorships, food aid, clean water, HIV and aids prevention, emergency relief, resolution of humanitarian crises, and microfinance programs. Building on our success last year we are encouraging our neighbors to consider giving $75 to World Vision. A $75 dollar donation provides a needy family a goat for Christmas. A goat nourishes a family with fresh milk, cheese, and yogurt, and can offer a much-needed income boost by providing offspring and extra dairy products for sale at the market. It even provides fertilizer that can dramatically increase crop yields. I invite you and your family to consider giving a life-changing gift this Christmas. You can learn more by visiting the information booths at the festival or by visiting www.worldvision.org.