Today we want to share five reasons why we think Seabrook is at a tipping point. There’s a lot of energy and excitement at Seabrook and we wanted to give you a little ‘behind the scenes’ of what’s going on out here on the Washington coast.
First thing, just to kind of recap of what’s gotten Seabrook to where it is today. We have what we call our “five barriers of entry” that really sets us apart from a lot of the competition out there as far as vacation homes and second homes.
The first one is: we have a really unique and spectacular property on the Washington coast. Most of the property on the Washington coast is built on sand spits from Long Beach on up. But Seabrook is really where the land changes and becomes a lot more rugged and beautiful up into Olympic National Park. We are really lucky to have this site. It’s a site we could never replace.
Our proximity to Seattle and the greater puget sound. There was so much pent up demand for a beach town that would compete with cannon beach that we decided to build here because we had over double the population and over five times the household wealth. So we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on the coast because Seattle is in our backyard and this is the closest destination to get to the Pacific ocean out there.
Most people that were going to Cannon Beach already changed their traditions and they’re now coming to Seabrook and that’s only going to grow over time.
The third thing is, if you’ve spent any time out in Seabrook, we have a really strong community. There’s about 100 of us that live out here full-time. We have our own school here. And, people move here full-time to be a part of the community. We all look out for each other. It’s designed in a way where it’s easy to connect with your neighbors. It’s kind of a unique place where you know your neighbors and people remember your name and you get to connect.
The fourth barrier to entry and what’s brought us here is the art of town building. We’ve been studying the art town building for the last 20 years. We are putting those efforts into practice. This isn’t an easy thing to duplicate. There are a lot of things that go into building a town from scratch. Are team has really become experts at that. It’s something that gives us a competitive advantage.
Finally, we have a really unique on-site property management program. We take care of all your needs. If there is any type of emergency we have maintenance and housekeeping on-site. We have security on site. You are able to connect with us in-person.
FIVE NEW REASONS
RETAIL DISTRICT
Going into the five newer reasons why we think Seabrook is at a tipping point or an inflection point is because this summer we will be doubling up the number of shops and restaurants. The most successful destination towns usually require about 30,000 square feet of retail and this summer we will be hitting that 30,000 square foot mark with 10-13 new business coming online.
We have a new art gallery moving into town. They will highlight 12-15 local coastal artists. They will also host Sip & Paint nights. We are really excited for them to open their doors.
We have a new Seabrook logo wear store that will bring on a whole new line of apparel that people are going to love.
The Stowaway Wine Bar is going to be expanding. This expansion doesn’t happen this year, but it is expanding into a much larger location within the next 18 to 24 months.
We are also about to break ground on our new lobby for our hospitality side of the business. That is something that could be done by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year.
Getting back to the businesses that are about to open or are already open: Brooklets toy store is a fantastic new toy store. It’s a spin-off of our Seabrook Kids store that was next to the Stowaway Wine Bar, but this is more focused on toys.
Magnolias women’s clothing has opened. If you don’t know, Magnolias was a really nice boutique store on Bainbridge Island and they packed up and moved their family out here. They saw this as a better opportunity to raise their family and their kids and also run a business.
Joie des Livres, which is French for ‘joy of books,’ is our new bookstore. Everybody who has walked into the bookstore has been blown away at the level of detail and quality they’ve put into the store. You can’t have great beach town without a great bookstore.
And we also have two other businesses in play for the final two spots we have. We have multiple people interested in those spots. But right now it’s most likely going to be a surf shop and a jewelry store.
We also brought on Valley & Rose Flower Truck. This cute little VW truck now lives in Seabrook and you’ll be seeing it all around town for events and in our retail district.
OCEAN VIEW LOFTS
This is our first example of ocean view lofts. We’re going to be releasing six new flats, four of which have fabulous ocean views, they’re right in the town center, and they’re right above where our new hospitality lobby will be. They have rooftop decks with fireplace making it a great spot to hangout with friends and family and relax.
We like to say there is something for everyone at Seabrook whether it’s a small cottage that’s out of town that has more green space and open space. But then there’s also the urban element for the people who want to be right in the middle of everything. Different people who like different things at Seabrook so we love offering a wide variety of options for people to enjoy Seabrook and the natural environment.
AIR BnB PLUS
Another new announcement at Seabrook is that we’ve created an exclusive partnership with Airbnb. They came out here last Fall and fell in love with Seabrook. They are looking for better properties that also have great on-site hosts. So when they found Seabrook had 220+ homes in our hospitality program they fell in love. They’ve created a new Airbnb+ basically means it’s an elevated way to homeshare and it gives the guest more confidence when they book because each home has gone through a 100-point inspection before they will put it on their website. And right now, Seabrook is only one of 12 locations in the country that meet the destination criteria.
QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITY ZONE
The fourth reason why we think Seabrook is at this tipping point is that in 2017 the new tax reform was completed and the Washington coast was designated an “opportunity zone.” People can purchase a new home in Seabrook and put it in our vacation rentals program and receive tax benefits you wouldn’t otherwise get.
How this works: in the 2017 Jobs Act these zones were created to encourage additional investments. Buying through the opportunity zones allows you to sell stock, you can sell a home, you can sell a business and take the capital gains that you’d pay tax on and defer that tax for seven (7) years. And then, the investment that you are making in the opportunity zone is tax free after owning it for 10 years.
It’s getting quite a bit of buzz in the real estate community, and the fact that Seabrook has all the pieces in place to make it easy to buy in a qualified opportunity zone is really going to give us a good position as people look to take advantage of these programs.
But again, talk to your CPA, talk to your attorney, and get more details on opportunity zones before making a decision.
ADDING NEW EXPERIENCES
The fifth really new feature in Seabrook that people are going to notice this year are the new experiences.
Our mountain bike trails are growing and we just committed resources to the Department of Natural Resources land just east of Seabrook to expand the mountain biking trails.
We are also working on a partnership with “one of the best kept secrets on the Washington Coast,” which is a really great surfing spot. And we will be announcing that partnership later in the year.
We are also adding a lot more yoga programs on-site, on the beach, in our parks, and in some of our indoor spaces we have available to use.
And then kiteboarding is also rapidly growing out here. These are just some of the new experiences that are coming online in 2019, but right now the main focus is mountain bike trails.
In the lower right hand corner you can see this square shaped property. That’s a 168-acres of Department of Natural Resources’ land, and it was underutilized timberland. This piece of land is about 20-acres larger than Duthie Hill, which is one of the most popular mountain biking destinations. People come from all over the country to ride Duthie Hill. It was designed and built by Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, and that’s whose designing and building this trail system. This will be a destination in and of itself. But, the beauty of it is that every home in Seabrook will have access to the trails. It’s all right in our backyard.
You can see some of the other trails we have built. Seabrook is becoming more of a destination for mountain biking and this new mountain bike trail system is really going to put Seabrook on the map as a mountain biking destination.
Anybody that thinks that those five (5) reasons are good reasons Seabrook is at an inflection point and have been thinking about purchasing a home here, here are some houses that are available and can be used this summer.
If you are interested in learning more about Seabrook and learning more about the purchasing opportunities, feel free to reach out to our sales team and they would love to help you.
Those are some of the reasons why we couldn’t be more excited about the direction Seabrook is going. We can’t wait to see all these businesses open this summer. It’s going to transform the way people think about Seabrook. We hope you can come out and enjoy some of that with us this summer. We look forward to seeing you soon!