Whisper Lake housing gets ready to hit the Birch Bay market

Whisper Lake is expected to hit the market in the next couple of months and start construction on the first phase of the Birch Bay housing development by the end of the year.

The 38-acre neighborhood, on Blaine Road just south of Alderson Road, will start with 36 lots in its first phase and eventually end with 145 homes total in nine phases. Whisper Lake will be a family-oriented neighborhood with homes between 1,300 and 4,000 square feet. Home prices will start at $400,000, said Whisper Lake developer Dwayne Engelsman.

A design style is still being developed for the homes, Engelsman said, adding he is in discussion whether the neighborhood will offer lots, homes or both for sale. Amenities include a trail that will connect the neighborhood to Bay Horizon Park, playground and possibly a clubhouse. Construction on the entire housing development is expected to be complete by February 2026.

Breaking ground will be a worthy celebration for Engelsman.

Engelsman, a Vancouver developer, purchased the property in 1994 but the 2008 recession slowed him in his tracks. Development faced another hurdle in the mid-2010s as Engelsman struggled with the last major checklist item before starting construction – he needed to connect future homes to sewer and water.

“I thought it was going to be a great place to develop and housing was needed,” he said. “I didn’t think it would take 25 years to develop.”

Birch Bay Water and Sewer District’s (BBWSD) comprehensive plan had the project’s sewer lines traversing private properties and wetlands to go north to the BBWSD’s main line on Alderson Road. Engelsman bought easements from property owners reluctant to have sewer lines cross their property and paid more for having the sewer lines cross wetlands. In total, he said he paid in excess of $1.5 million to bring sewer and water to Whisper Lake.

Engelsman also considered connecting the sewer lines to Bay Horizon Park, which he said would have still been his preferred method. However, a clause in the park’s deed was found in 2017 that said the federal government could resume ownership of the property, formerly the Blaine Air Force Station, if needed for national defense. That would terminate the sewer lines and leave taxpayers to pay for new ones, according to previous reporting from The Northern Light.

As a compromise, Whisper Lake developers offered Whatcom County a gift of rebuilding the dated sewer line on the Bay Horizon Park to allow them to route their sewer system to the park. The county didn’t take the offer, which Engelsman said will cost taxpayers in future development on the park.

The main sewer line is installed in the Whisper Lake and ready to be hooked up to future homes in the neighborhood’s first phase, Engelsman said. 

“That was the big hurdle because without water and sewer you can’t service any of the plats,” he said. “It would have really been a much better end result to go through Camp Horizon but we needed to get the plat done before it expired.”

BBWSD commissioners unanimously approved a new water and sewer developer extension agreement for Whisper Lake, after the previous one had expired because of Covid-induced delays, during their January 13 meeting. The agreement kept the original general facility charges from the original contract, instead of the new charges the commissioners approved last October. The fees pay for growth-related projects that benefit the entire community, such as capacity upgrades to the treatment plant.

According to the January 13 BBWSD meeting minutes, Whisper Lake had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and couldn’t afford the general facility charge increase. Without Whisper Lake paying the increased fees, BBWSD will collect the difference between the original and current fees when the homes are connected to BBWSD’s system.

BBWSD’s legal counsel Bob Carmichael said during the meeting that the prior fees were only approved for Whisper Lake because of unique circumstances including infrastructure being completed before the fee increase. The pandemic created construction delays, bankruptcy and initiation of foreclosure for the property caused development delays, according to meeting minutes.

BBWSD general manager Dan Eisses said BBWSD customers won’t be paying for anything related to Whisper Lake.

“I was happy with the resulting sewer line locations and the infrastructure will work well for the district,” Eisses said.

Whisper Lake will announce its marketing plan and start sales in the next two months. Construction of the first phase will hopefully start this year, Engelsman said. Prospective homebuyers can email Engelsman at dwayneinbc@gmail.com.