Housing Week 2024

What kind of housing do people want? Affordable, healthy, environmentally friendly and high quality. Is it possible for local builders to check all of these boxes? You bet.

Join us on Tuesday, October 15^th at 12:30pm for lunch in Bellingham’s largest green-built solar community and learn how Larrabee Springs, Inc. and AJW Builders are developing an environmentally sustainable community that is home to a wide range of housing types and densities for all income levels. Come as early as 11:30am for a tour, or stay after lunch for a tour.

Date: 10/15/2024

Time: 11:30am to 2:00pm

Location:
636 Venture Lane
Bellingham, WA 98226
Directions

Host Organization:

Larrabee Springs

Lunch will be provided, please register and help us with a head count.

Our Story

Since 2003, Larrabee Springs has held the vision to create a sustainable community designed as a pedestrian-friendly village home to multi-generational housing for all income levels with a wide range of housing types.

Today Larrabee Springs and Alex Wynstra, owner of AJW Builders have built nearly 300 high-quality, green built, solar-powered homes for Bellingham, resulting in the creation of one of the largest green-built, solar-powered communities in the state of Washington. Their building model has successfully yielded a variety of housing types including sustainable family-size homes, senior housing, and middle housing types such duplexes, townhomes, and single-story homes.

The homes have been built using green building and US EPA Energy Star practices. To reduce their carbon footprint and reduce energy costs about 2500 solar panels have been installed to date. All of the homes have energy recovery ventilators, heat pumps and mini splits.  Additionally, all homes are sealed with aerobarrier and have car charging outlets in the garages. Local contractors have been hired to complete the builds and most building materials throughout the project have been sourced from local businesses, such as Highcraft cabinets manufactured in Ferndale. Over the past decade these homes have been some of the most affordable new housing available in Bellingham.

With environmental sustainability at the forefront, Larrabee Springs has restored over 23 acres of habitat including the creation and enhancement of wetland areas, buffers and stream corridors. The project features carefully designed fish passage culverts, promoting the sustainability of future salmon populations.

Over 30,000 native species have been planted, including nine thousand trees since 2014. The wetland areas include native species such as spruce, douglas fir, birch, red cedar, maple, willow and cottonwood.  Included within these communities are plantings of thousands of native shrubs including nootka rose, dogwood, salmonberry, oceanspray, snowberry and elderberry.

Over the past several years the restored habitat system has become home to numerous species of birds and mammals, providing shelter, shade and hydrologic retention set in an engaging and visually pleasing setting.

The stream and wetland program has been one of Whatcom County’s largest (privately managed) project and it serves as a model for how we can carefully integrate sustainable housing development into the natural environment.

Larrabee Springs holds the philosophy of what it means to be a responsible neighbor. Community involvement during the design and development process has resulted in the creation of the Cordata Community Garden as well as public trails and open spaces.

Whatcom Housing Week 2024 Lunch & Learn

Come see the process and learn more about the development model during a lunchtime presentation by Alex Wynstra, AJW Builders and Jasmine Fast, Jones Engineers Inc.

Please register for lunch ahead of time to help give us a head count. Arrive anytime between 11:30am and 12:30pm to tour the homes. The lunch and learn begins at 12:30pm and runs till 1:30pm. From 1:30pm to 2:00pm you’ll have another opportunity to tour the community and ask questions. We look forward to meeting you!