Multi-family housing coming to Horizon doubles subdivision’s housing to over 400 homes

Multi-family housing slated for Horizon at Semiahmoo will nearly double the subdivision’s residences to over 400 single-family, triplexes and fourplexes.
Harbor Custom Development (HCD), the Gig Harbor-based company that purchased Horizon less than a year ago, sold six acres of land to Noffke Homes for $4.48 million on March 30. The land will be used for 56 triplex and fourplex units that are expected to be constructed by 2023, said HCD chief operating officer Jeff Habersetzer.
“The sale reinforces our business plan of providing single and multi-family plans and backs up the desire for product in this area,” he said.
Noffke’s purchase is the first of eight multi-family tracts Horizon developers plan to sell. The other tracts have 30-40 multi-family units that are currently in various design stages, Habersetzer said. Three more multi-family tracts are expected to be available to builders near the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, HCD marketing director Jennifer Lang said in an email.
“We’re shopping around,” he said, referring to builders. “Some tracts still have work to do on them. We’re in the process of developing the rest of the tracts.”
Subdivision
Noffke’s multi-family land purchase only represents a fraction of Horizon at Semiahmoo’s 149-acre property. The subdivision will have about 140 single-family homes and 300 multi-family units, according to a HCD press release on the land sale. Anywhere from 417 and 477 residences could be built, Habersetzer said. The multi-family units are located north and south of the single-family homes, near Semiahmoo Parkway, Birch Point Road and Birch Bay Drive.
Last June, when HCD purchased the vacant Horizon land on Semiahmoo Parkway, developers told The Northern Light they expected the subdivision to provide up to 230 residences. Habersetzer said this number nearly doubled when developers realized the land supported multi-family development.
“When we first purchased the property a year ago, we didn’t anticipate as many of the multi-family tracts would be viable for building,” he said.
Horizon’s growth comes as Semiahmoo Highlands developers announced in March they had plans to build over 480 residential units along with retail and commercial space to a 353-acre Semiahmoo property.
Horizon could be complete by 2025, but Habersetzer said the timeline largely depends on the builders. Horizon sold 71 single-family home lots last December that Noffke Homes, MainVue Homes and Century Communities will build in the subdivision’s first phase.
The subdivision will be built in three phases, all of which are in Whatcom County jurisdiction. The second phase will have another 70 single-family lots that haven’t been sold yet, Habersetzer said. Phase two is in the planning and development stage, with site development expected to start late this summer.
Increased Semiahmoo development has raised stormwater management concern for Semiahmoo and Birch Bay residents who experienced historic flooding last November. When asked how Horizon developers will address stormwater concerns, Habersetzer replied, “We take stormwater very seriously and work with top engineering firms and the city and county.”
Horizon will maintain a cohesive style of craftsman, northwest contemporary and farmhouse design throughout the subdivision, Habersetzer said. He added the subdivision’s future homeowner association will decide on amenities in addition to the planned trail system and park spaces.
Presales for Horizon’s phase one single-family homes are expected to start this spring, according to the press release. The single-family homes will be between 2,200 and 3,500 square feet and priced from $800,000 to nearly $1 million, Habersetzer said.
Noffke multi-family
Noffke’s multi-family land purchase resulted in $126,355 in excise tax, $22,400 of which will go to local government, according to the Whatcom County Treasurer’s Office. Noffke’s two-story tri-and-fourplexes will be 1,600 and 1,800 square feet with views of Birch Bay and the Cascade mountains. Noffke’s multi-family units will be located in the northwest corner of Horizon.
Sabra Braid, Noffke’s assistant manager for preplanning and development, said prices weren’t determined for the multi-family homes yet. Construction has already started on the single-family homes and construction will start on the multi-family homes within the next two months, Braid said. Noffke’s single-family phase one lots are expected to go on sale in August but a date hasn’t been set for the multi-family units to hit the market, she said.
Braid said Noffke has interest in building more homes in Horizon.
“The plan isn’t for us to go away,” she said. “It’s for us to grow.”
Other development
HCD has other projects on the way in the Blaine area. Although the sale has not closed, HCD entered a $14 million contract last December to purchase Grandis Pond, an east Blaine project that will bring 1,000 homes along the U.S./Canada border in the next 10-15 years. The sale was previously expected to close by early fall; Habersetzer said HCD is working through transaction details.
HCD also owns Inverness, a property across from Horizon that will bring another 70 lots to Semiahmoo Parkway. Inverness is located in city of Blaine jurisdiction. Lang said HCD expects Inverness to be ready to build on in late 2023.
HCD is a real estate company that works from land acquisition to sales and residential management. The company, which has developed in Texas, Florida and California, is hoping to attract teleworkers, retirees and people moving away from Seattle and Vancouver.
“One of the nice things about this area is offering upscale living in a small town community,” Habersetzer said. “There’s a natural forest setting with coastal views.”
For more information on Horizon at Semiahmoo, visit horizonbyharborcustomdev.com.