A 219-acre empty Semiahmoo property won’t stay that way much longer. Harbor Custom Development, Inc. (HCD) purchased the Horizon at Semiahmoo housing development June 28 for $14.3 million, and developers say they’re ready to spur progress on an upward of 230 residences almost immediately.
Horizon is located off Semiahmoo Parkway, adjacent to the Semiahmoo golf course, and provides panoramic views of Birch Bay, the San Juan Islands and the Semiahmoo golf course.
The housing development contains 71 residential lots that are already serviced and approved, according to a HCD press release. Horizon also has 75-80 undeveloped lots in a second parcel and 37 acres that developers believe could add 80 residences, 20 of which would be just steps from the Semiahmoo golf course.
Sterling Griffin, HCD president and CEO, said he’s watched the Horizon property over the past few years but started keeping a closer eye on it six months ago because of Whatcom County’s severe housing shortage.
“We believe you take the existing housing shortage and you have the Canadian border closed for residential traffic and when it opens, it will be a boom for the county,” Griffin said.
Griffin said the properties fall under either Whatcom County or city of Blaine jurisdiction, depending on their location. He’d like to get approvals in place from both governments as soon as possible, so the company can hopefully start building homes this year and people could potentially move into the homes during the first six months of 2022.
“Our objective is to start immediately,” he said. “After the holiday, we want to start cleaning up the existing lots to move forward right away.”
The company will first build on the 71 lots that are already approved, while moving through the engineering process for the undeveloped properties, which Griffin said will provide a finalized number of residences.
The upper-end homes will be Pacific Northwest style for vacationers and people looking to raise families alike, Griffin said. Homes will be priced $600,000 to $1 million.
There is no standard size for the lots. Some lots are 15,000 square feet, others larger or smaller, and undeveloped lots have yet to be sized, Griffin said. The properties will primarily be single-family homes with the possibility of condominiums for sale if zoning allows.
Horizon was set to be the area’s first residential mixed-use development in the mid-2000s, but went moribund after the 2008 recession, changing hands several times.
HCD is a real estate company that works from land acquisition to sales and management of residential projects. The company began development in western Washington and has expanded to Sacramento, California and Austin, Texas, with a focus on suburban areas and resort communities outside of cities.
Semiahmoo’s proximity to Vancouver also played a role in HCD acquiring the Horizon subdivision.
“We are excited to enter the Vancouver, B.C. metro market allowing Harbor to offer our residential product to both U.S. and Canadian buyers,” Griffin said in a statement. “Expanding our Washington state footprint into Whatcom County is a natural progression of our strategy to provide housing in suburbs that are a commutable distance to a core job market.”
People interested in purchasing a home in the Horizon at Semiahmoo subdivision can follow the HCD website, harborcustomhomes.com, for updates, Griffin said.
Griffin, who took notice of Blaine on drives to B.C., said he is interested in developing more in Blaine, considering it an underserved community.
“We’re excited to be coming to Whatcom County,” he said. “This is a beautiful piece of property.”
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