Rebuilt High Point housing project a green surprise

West Seattle's High Point neighborhood has experienced an extreme makeover that is one of the first of its kind in the country.

The original housing project constructed during World War II for defense workers at Boeing has been torn down and rebuilt into what many see as a housing utopia.

It has surprised most everyone, even some of those who have worked on the project.

"You really have to see it to believe it," says development manager and architect Brian Sullivan of the Seattle Housing Authority, who has worked on the project for seven years. "The typical buyers are folks who really appreciate what a diverse community can be."

That community includes almost equal numbers of private homes and rental properties managed by Seattle Housing Authority.

Seniors and young, first-time homeowners live next door to each other, and those who qualify for low-income housing live on the same block as those who can afford to live most anywhere.

Five private homebuilders have worked on the project in conjunction with the Seattle Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, community groups and surrounding West Seattle neighbors.

The development has received national and international attention for one of the most aggressive green-building strategies in the country.

The "natural" drainage system has porous streets and sidewalks designed to absorb rain just like the floor of a forest would, filtering it before it flows into Longfellow Creek.

Both rental and for-sale homes are "built green," with Energy Star certified technology.

"Developers don't normally put those features in homes," says Jennifer Reyer, sales agent with Lyle Homes at High Point. "It's unusual because it's very expensive to build this way."

Prices among the five builders vary. Homes start in the high-$200,000s for condos and can go up to $500,000 for single-family houses with a view.

An unusually open design with porches and balconies allows for people-watching or gazing out at the trees, the pond or the view of Elliott Bay and the Space Needle.

Now that High Point has won numerous building awards and has been the subject of two PBS documentaries, there is only one question left.

What is it like to live there?

"It's a friendly community," says Rebecca Destello, a first-time homeowner who last month purchased a three-story, single-family carriage house with her partner. "Everybody says 'Hi' to each other on the street."

She likes the diversity of the neighborhood but mostly feels like she got a great deal and avoided the typical "cookie cutter" town homes.

Destello especially likes the little touches in her craftsman-style home, like recycled hardwood flooring from Cleveland High School that looks brand new.

"Rather than banging houses together and selling them for top dollar, the builders thought hard about how to best serve the community," says Destello. "That's how it really should be — that's what we need."