The Clearwater Commons welcomes inquiries about openings in our community. Currently we are fully built and occupied. We are leaving this information on the site because it has good information about our community.
Building at the Commons: Snohomish County has approved our Administrative Site Plan for this development, which identifies 16 open space condominium lots on the property and they are available for individual ownership. Individuals or families will own each lot as part of the Clearwater Commons Condominium Association. Owners will have exclusive right of use of their own lot subject to the covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CCR’s) , and non-exclusive right of use for the common buildings and grounds including creek, wetlands, and Native Growth Protection Area (Approximately 5 acres of the property is preserved as Native Growth Protection Area).
Costs: The Clearwater Commons has worked very hard to minimize all expenses. Members are developing this property at cost to form a community, not to make a typical developer’s profit. However, the expenses of building on a site that contains an endangered salmon stream and wetlands are significant. In addition, building green creates up front costs that are not typical with new construction, such as insulation, green roofs and nontoxic finishes. There are a range of green building choices available so that owners can choose a package that is affordable.
Ready to build single and duplex lots are still available at the Clearwater Commons. The cost to purchase a lot is approximately $160,000. Reserving now provides the greatest choice in lot location and house design. House construction costs will be in addition to the lot cost. With approval from the CCLLC and completion of an appropriate commitment agreement, partial payment may be sufficient to reserve a lot until house construction loan financing is acquired. Total costs to build a home are based on market factors and finishes. Each homeowner is responsible for construction financing of their own home.
Building Your House: To minimize the architecture, engineering and construction costs to the community, we have designed and permitted two standard house designs (Unit A has 2 bedrooms, Unit B has 3 bedrooms).We are open to modifications to the base plans or other house designs so long as they fall within LID guidlines. Owners will be responsible for the additional costs associated with changes to the standard plans.
Background: The CCLLC was formed in June 2006 to purchase and develop 7.4 acres into a low impact housing development. The land was purchased from the Taylor Development Company of Bellevue, which planned a 9-lot subdivision. The purchase price was $1.26 million. All of the wetlands delineations, survey and outline of utilities connections were completed before purchase. The property is zoned multi-residential and could permit up to 40 units.
The CCLLC redesigned the property as an open space condominium with approximately 2.5 acres of buildable area holding 16 lots. We designed our site plan to support our community and promote low impact development. The project was vested in December 2006, when the site plan was submitted to Snohomish County Department of Planning. (Being vested means that all county codes and restrictions on design and development will not change, even if county regulations do change during the building process.)
Development Team:
Project Manager: Tom Campbell (member)
Site Design and Architecture: Banyon Tree Design Studio – Chad and Lisa Port (members)
Civil Engineers: 2020 Engineering in Bellingham
Wetlands: Watershed Company – Kirkland
Traffic Engineers: Traffic Engineers Northwest (TENW)
Design Process: During the design process, CCLLC members explored ways to live more efficiently and make this project affordable to families. Analysis of similiar communities suggests that having more units and people to contribute to the community is desirable. In addition, multiple units defray the costs for any one unit and make each unit more affordable. Through many hours of creative design and discussion, we decided to design both shared wall (townhouse) and single family detached homes. Growth management principles also suggest that density in an urban area reduces sprawl. The site design includes 15 new units, the existing single family house near the creek and a future common house with guest room, small spaces, and a large kitchen and multipurpose room. We have finished construction of five homes, the community workshop, storage shed and garden area.
If you have questions about availability, please call Tom Campbell at 206.919.7449 or email Bob Freeman at commons@clearwatercommons.com.