Birch Bay blossoms
Developers eye popular vacation community as new home for year-round residents

by Lauren Kramer

If there’s one key word that describes Birch Bay these days, it’s growth. The community that had its genesis in vacation homes and summer holidays is witnessing unprecedented development and changing in character with each passing year. To some, that growth spells business opportunity. To others, it means an end to the peace and quiet that once characterized Birch Bay. Whichever way you look at it, Birch Bay is undergoing a metamorphosis and becoming an attraction to new residents from far and wide.

Growth and resources
The last U.S. census of the area occurred in the year 2000 at just under 5,000 residents, and while no one knows the precise number of Birch Bay residents today, that census showed that in the decade between 1990 and 2000 the community’s population grew by 86 percent, considerably faster than Blaine, Lynden or Ferndale.
The good news for developers is that there’s enough water to go around Birch Bay as the community’s population expands – for now at any rate. “More people are moving to Birch Bay, either into existing homes or buying new ones with the intention of using them as a primary residence,” says Roger Brown, manager of the Birch Bay Water & Sewer District. “That has an impact on resources, because the rate at which the average daily water usage has grown is faster than new units are coming in.”
On a peak day, Birch Bay uses 1.6 million gallons of water, but has a contract with Blaine for the delivery of up to 2.1 million gallons per day and another contract with Public Utility District #1 of Whatcom County for an additional three million gallons. “Basically, we have adequate source supply for water and some room to grow,” Brown says.

Meet the newcomers
That’s good news for Gina Weigum, one of those newcomers to the area, though she grew up in Bellingham and visited her family home in Birch Bay throughout her childhood. Then she and her husband, Marc, moved to California to pursue careers in high technology, commuting to work three hours a day. On a return visit to Washington state the couple saw a property next to the long-time favorite candy store the C Shop for sale and started reconsidering their lifestyle choices.
“We wanted to slow down and start a family,” she says. The Weigums promptly paid $340,000 for the property in January 2005, moving back home six months later. Today they’re in the process of building a mixed-use condominium and retail development on the corner of Alderson and Birch Bay Drive. The three-story Terrell Creek building will have retail on the ground floor and condominiums and townhomes on the upper two floors, at a cost of $4.5 million.
“We haven’t signed any retailers yet, but I’m getting calls every day and am looking at the possibility of a dry cleaner, dentist, gift shop, restaurant, hair stylist and florist,” Weigum says. The retail space will rent for $15-to-$17 per square foot, and costs for the townhomes and condominiums are still being determined.
In her decade-long absence from Birch Bay, Weigum noticed a drastic change to the landscape. “I bought a condo on the water six years ago, and we get a call every month from people interested in buying it,” she says.
“It’s starting to return to the old Birch Bay I knew as a child, with bumper-to-bumper summer traffic and people flocking here. I’ve seen lots of baby boomers coming into the area looking for retirement homes, but one of the problems is that there aren’t many services out here. That’s part of the reason we wanted to offer retail as well as the condos – because right now, when we need services, we have to drive out to Blaine or Ferndale.”
Those looking for waterfront accommodation will likely find it at the Sandcastle Resort, which opened June 4 with a spa, Whisper on the Bay, independently owned by Ellen Shea. “We’re the only spa in Birch Bay and we’ve been really well received by the community,” says Shea. The spa, which opened its doors in March 2006, has changing facilities, a steam room, a relaxation area, lockers and showers, and offers massage, body treatments, tub treatments, manicures, pedicures and facials.
Shea, who also developed the Chrysalis Spa in Bellingham, moved from Bellingham to Birch Bay two years ago. “I thought with the vacation people and the timeshare offered by Raintree Vacation Club at Sandcastle Resort, this would be a good location for a full-service spa,” she says. “So far, I think I’m right. The resort will be busy, as it’s right on the water and offers beautiful accommodations. And at the spa we’ve had lots of customers, both locals and people from Bellingham and Canada.”

Developers eye existing amenities
The Birch Bay Waterslides had everyone guessing as to its destiny until recently. Purchased by Homestead Northwest in October 2005, the waterslides were under construction and passers-by wondered if the doors of this much-loved summer destination were permanently closed.
In fact, the company was simply repainting and cleaning up the entire park in anticipation of summer, says Ian Buchanan, onsite manager. “We have a different look now … and we’ve recoated all the slides to make it a safer, more fun experience for the kids,” he says.
The concessions stand has been revamped and will offer a variety of new food options, and the entire park is cleaner than ever and better maintained “as it hadn’t had any upkeep for some time,” Buchanan says.
Birch Bay Waterslides have had an annual average of 85,000 people through its gates over the last two years. Homestead Northwest has plans to expand those numbers by doing group bookings and catering to corporate functions now that the park boasts a new kitchen and concession. In addition, the company hopes to build an onsite hotel as well as retail space and condominiums in two years’ time.
Homestead Northwest isn’t alone in eyeing Birch Bay for development. Further down the road in Semiahmoo, Gary Nelson, owner of the Bellingham-based Toft Construction LLC, is in the process of building 14 homes that will range in price from $1 million to $1.5 million.
Called Clubhouse Point, Nelson has laid the foundation of the first two single levels and hopes these units will be completed in October. The project as a whole will take a couple of years to complete, he says.
Clubhouse Point is Nelson’s first foray into single-family homes. In the past, Toft Construction has focused on commercial development. “I always wanted to do a project like this,” Nelson confesses. “I purchased this property from Trillium Corporation, and it’s in a gorgeous setting.”
The homes, which will range from 2,500 to 4,400 square feet, will each feature a detached garage and a casita, or small guesthouse, with a courtyard. It’s a concept Nelson saw in Arizona and Florida, and decided it would work well in Washington, too.
“Our buyers like the idea of having their kids or friends stay over, but not living in the actual home itself,” he says of the casita concept. Nelson estimates that 50 percent of buyers will be from outside of Bellingham, mostly baby boomers looking for a unique place to retire. “We’ve had fairly strong interest from potential buyers, and already have a client that will buy a unit on the point, which is the most expensive of all of them.”
Look for more of of Birch Bay’s landmarks to be redefined. A prime example is the 87-acre Birch Bay Golf Course, which is up for auction by Realty Marketing Northwest, a Portland, Ore.-based realty firm. Zoned resort/commercial and urban residential, the golf course site permits resort and commercial space, or up to six residential units per acre. The reserve price is set at $3.7 million and the auction took place last month.