SEATTLE—October 12, 2005—Over 300 people came together to celebrate the grand opening of the redeveloped High Point.

At a large tent located alongside the new High Point pond, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels led the celebration of the transformation of the former military-worker housing site to a new, highly acclaimed community. Chief Sealth High School’s Marching Seahawks band made a surprise visit to start the activities, which included tours of five new rental homes.

People seeing the new High Point for the first time at the Grand Opening Celebration were amazed at the transformation of the landscape.

Where they used to see dilapidated and aging housing, they now saw newly built colorfully painted homes, fresh landscaping, and lush open spaces.

Event attendees discussed the new amenities as they enjoyed refreshments from local restaurants, and toured the newest rental homes. They also had the opportunity to tour some of the Breathe-Easy homes designed for asthma sufferers, and to see High Point’s integrated storm water retention pond.

“A great city like Seattle deserves great new neighborhoods, and I believe what you see today is the beginning of one of those neighborhoods,” said Tom Phillips, SHA Senior Development Manager, as part of his remarks.

The dream of reconnecting High Point with the rest of West Seattle is now becoming a reality. After years of thoughtful planning and building, the first part of the new mixed-income community has come together. By the end of the decade, High Point will have 1,600 new homes across its 120 acres.

Many people at the celebration agreed that this spectacular new neighborhood is the direct result of an exceptionally close cooperation among planners, residents, and other stakeholders.

“The homes are overwhelmingly gorgeous,” said Sharon Cromley, who grew up in West Seattle, and is now a Resident Commissioner with the Bremerton Housing Authority. “High Point is like a flower that just bloomed.”

Mithun, SvR, Nakano Associates, Seattle Housing residents, West Seattle community members, and Seattle Housing staff worked together to create High Point's award-winning redevelopment plan. The plan includes three major components: quality design, a healthy environment, and an engaged community.

It also incorporates ways to implement community and environmental sustainability of the area. It calls for creating a safe, high quality, and healthy residential environment with a range of housing types that will be fully integrated with the surrounding community. Each home is built to Built Green standards.

“High Point has become a model community for the rest of the nation,” said Dr. James Krieger from King County Public Health, who is working on High Point’s Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities project.

High Point boasts the largest crop of healthy homes in any development across the United States. Its 35 Breathe-Easy Homes are the first of their kind in the entire country. The University of Washington’s School of Public Health will monitor the health of children who live in these houses, and record reactions to their new surroundings. High Point has also been designed as a “walkable” community, which will add to the healthy lifestyle of its residents.

Some residents who lived in the old High Point have already moved into new units. Linda So, a West Seattle High School student who is involved with SafeFutures, moved with her family into their new home at the end of this summer. So explained that there are many things that they don’t have to worry about anymore, like being able to fit their whole family in their home for special occasions.

“We love the kitchen in our new home,” said So. “We’re looking forward to being able to have the whole family fit in our place for Thanksgiving this year.”

Representatives from Catholic Community Services’ Youth Tutoring Program, the High Point branch of the Seattle Public Library, private builders with homes to sell at High Point, and the Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Centers’ High Point Medical and Dental Center shared information about their services at the celebration. The Medical and Dental Center also offered a kid-friendly area where neighborhood kids could play and learn about health prevention.

The official grand opening program consisted of remarks from Tom Tierney, SHA Executive Director; Cecile Hansen, Tribal Chairwoman of the Duwamish Tribe; Mayor Greg Nickels; Linda So, High Point resident; Dr. James Krieger, King County Public Health; Doris Koo, Senior Vice President of The Enterprise Foundation; Linda Stalzer, Director/Project Development of The Dwelling Company; and Tom Phillips, SHA Senior Development Manager.