Driving through Copalis Crossing on the way to the Washington coast recently, you’ve surely noticed a charming little produce market luring tourists and locals in for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Voss Acres, North Beach’s newest local market, has quickly become a household name for fresh, quality produce and warm, friendly conversations. Since opening on Mother’s Day weekend, Voss Acres has been a delightful new addition for residents and tourists on the way to the beach.

You don’t just encounter a small produce market upon entering Voss Acres;  you immediately embark on a journey into the last century sprinkled with neat stories and traditions told by the pictures on the wall and casual conversations. Passionate owners, Steve and Sharon Voss, are always eager to share any of the fascinating history while shoppers pick fresh fruits and veggies.

For example, the house in which they both live right next to the market was built in 1898 and is one of the oldest houses in the North Beach area. What has been a renovating project for Steve over the past few years, was once a “mobile” home for the workers along the railroad – the house would move along with every section of railroad that was completed.

As you walk through the market, you’ll also notice many old souvenirs and artifacts. Steve and Sharon found most of these on the site of the house when they acquired the landmark, with some items dating back almost a 100 years. The most recent find being a spark plug piece from a Model T Ford (1909-1927).

If you circle the market building to the back, you’ll immediately spot a drove of pigs surrounded by little chicken and turkeys, ducks, etc. Fresh eggs are collected all week and sold on Saturdays.  In addition to the farm animals, adjacent is an organic farm that Steve has been passionately gardening for almost 10 years now. Local, organic carrots, beans, Swiss chard, and other vegetables are a big hit at Voss Acres. Regulars ask for them all the time as they are picked fresh and cleaned as you wait.

Otherwise, Voss Acres gets most of its produce from Charlie’s Produce in Seattle, who has an excellent network of local and national farmers delivering fresh food a couple times a week to Copalis Crossing.

Seabrook’s local grocery store has also started featuring Voss Acres’ products as of late. If you stop by the Lil’s Pantry on Front Street, greeting you is Sharon’s fresh produce that is sure to complete any meal or provide for grocery shopping during your stay at Seabrook.

Whichever way you decide to try Voss Acre’s fresh fruits and vegetables, you certainly won’t regret it. Furthermore, if you can learn a thing or two about the history of the area while you’re doing your grocery shopping, all the better. It is usually the context to a place and the people in it that make it a unique experience. Voss Acre has both, and a little bit extra.

In the meantime, check out the market’s website and add Sharon on Facebook for the latest information, news, and pictures out of Voss Acres.

While Florida may seem very far away to many of us here on the Washington coast, a beach town called Seaside in Florida was one of the primary inspirations for Seabrook, WA!

Casey Roloff, Town Founder of Seabrook, explains, “I fell in love with Seaside and I am excited to build a town here in Washington with many of the same elements that sets Seaside apart from other development.” Although the architecture may differ between the two towns, both Seaside and Seabrook share quite a few similarities:

• Seaside’s town plan was created using 80 acres and Seabrook’s plan was made using 88 acres.
• Both beach towns are located on previously overlooked stretches of coastline.
• Seabrook and Seaside were designed to ensure a resident’s primary needs are located within a 5-minute walk of the town center.
• The retail center of each town was designed to be the heart of the community.
• A variety of pedestrian and bicycle friendly routes were created to encourage walking and bicycling as the primary modes of transportation.
• Charming regional towns like Seaside, OR, Cannon Beach, OR, and Carmel, CA,  influenced home design codes and architectural guidelines in each town.
• Small cottages, large family beach houses, and homes of every size and shape exist to provide something for everyone.
• Seaside and Seabrook have held property values better than any other town on their respective coastlines.
• Both Seaside’s and Seabrook’s Town Founders live in the towns they worked to create.

Like Seabrook, “It was never about selling real estate,” says Robert Davis, Seaside’s Town Founder. “It was more about selling an idea of how people can best live side-by-side in a community.”

“Seaside grabbed the imagination, not to mention the emotional heart strings of homebuyers who wanted to be a part of the Davis’ vision of Serendipity on the Gulf.” – Robb Report, “Seaside’s 30th Anniversary Special.”

Read the full Robb Report Seaside article and learn about the other similarities between Seabrook and Seaside!

Have you ever dreamed of owning a spectacular beach home that was also environmentally sustainable? That is exactly what the Hassler family was looking for when they created Windswept, a beautiful oceanfront home nestled into Seabrook’s Northwest Glen Neighborhood.

This stunning property was carefully planned to not only be an incredible beach retreat, but was also designed to be energy efficient, use less water than a traditional home, provide a healthy indoor environment, and protect the outdoor environment both during the construction process and for the life of the home. With all this in mind, Windswept was recently awarded LEED Certification at the Silver level – becoming the second home at Seabrook with LEED certification!

LEED is an acronym that stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance “green” buildings. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides homeowners and contractors with three different levels of concise framework used to identify and implement practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance solutions.

Here in Washington, there are less than 150 homes that have attained either the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level LEED Certification. Until recently, only one of these LEED Certified homes was located on the Olympic Peninsula; Seabrook’s very own, Evergreen Cabin. Now, Windswept has joined the Evergreen Cabin to become the second home at Seabrook and the first oceanfront home to attain LEED Certification!

Windswept is a relaxing and sophisticated beach home that is committed to environmental stewardship and social responsibility. It is also a vacation rental property available to rent for your next beach vacation!

Visit Windswept’s Cottage Rentals website to find out more information on the home amenities, pictures, availability, and more!

Ever since its release, our Lily Walk neighborhood has been immensely popular among buyers and Seabrook Cottage Rentals guests!

Even now, after all 17 homes have been gobbled up and the neighborhood is completely sold out, people are still interested in finding out more about these lovely beach homes.

That is why our design team has been working long and hard on implementing a similar neighborhood to Lily Walk in other parts of Seabrook. In fact, we are all but ready to release our brand new neighborhood, Madison Lane!

Madison Lane will be a neighborhood outfitted with similar house styles to those found in Lily Walk and will be a little closer to the center of town and the beach.

If Lily Walk & Madison Lane aren’t your style, then get excited for our other upcoming East Main neighborhood, Madison Lane’s “Seabrook Avenue” neighbor. For more information on Madison Lane and East Main cottages, stay tuned to the Seabrook Blog. A big announcement is coming soon!

Don’t want to wait? Then check out Seabrook’s Front Street Townhomes – incredibly priced and situated just a stone’s throw away from the beach and retail district! This is the best way to be super close to the ocean without buying an oceanfront house!

Many of you have probably witnessed all the growth Seabrook’s experienced lately. If you haven’t yet, browse our available vacation rentals and pick your favorite beach cottage!

In the meantime, we’ve prepared a slideshow of the latest Lily Walk progress…enjoy!

Love the ocean? Love reading beautifully designed magazines displaying the most magnificent coastlines and beaches around the world? Then you’re gonna love this!

Ocean Home Magazine, one of the most respected print magazines on living by the ocean, has featured Seabrook’s attractive oceanfront real estate in their latest September/October issue!

The magazine is a highly exclusive publication only available at select locations. Oceanhome Magazine’s subscribers comprise a group of carefully selected families interested in purchasing oceanfront real estate as their second, third, or fourth home.

Seabrook is very proud to be a part of Oceanhome Magazine. Their 6 page spread highlights Seabrook’s beachfront views as well as the town’s sustainable plan and all of its amenities we often highlight here on the Seabrook Blog.

If you don’t have a chance to check out a printed copy of the magazine, you can click and view the whole Seabrook article online!

And this is just the beginning of Seabrook’s press for the fall! The Seattle Times real estate section is coming out with an extensive article on Seabrook’s home sales success in next week’s weekend paper. By the end of September, Coastal Living Magazine’s 30-page spread on Seabrook and the Ultimate Beach House should hit the stands as well!

So be on the lookout for more lovely features of Seabrook!