Sustainability

Seabrook is a coastal community dedicated to preserving and celebrating the natural environment. The town’s vision is to blend thoughtful urban design with the surrounding landscape, creating a connected system of greenways, parks, and natural spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy. Each Seabrook cottage is carefully planned and built using energy-efficient materials and resource-conscious construction practices.

Benefits of Sustainable Building

Reduced environmental impact

Sustainable construction helps protect Seabrook’s coastal environment by lowering emissions, reducing waste through recycled materials, and supporting cleaner air and water.

Improved energy efficiency

Energy-efficient designs and technology reduce electricity use and heat loss, keeping homes comfortable while using less energy year-round.

Cleaner indoor air

Well-designed ventilation systems and interior finishes with little to no chemical off-gassing create healthier indoor spaces with fresher, cleaner air.

Long-term cost savings

Efficient systems and durable materials save money on energy bills and maintenance, making each home a lasting investment in sustainability.

Responsible Town Planning

Walkability

Seabrook's clustered development allows the town to exist in a smaller area. Everything is closer together, and the narrow streets, pedestrian paths, and inviting promenades encourage people to park their cars and explore on foot.

Natural Landscaping

Public areas are landscaped with low-maintenance native plant species, existing topsoil, and natural path materials. Habitat creation with constructed wetlands, native plant gardens, and preserve areas helps support native wildlife.

Water Runoff Measures

Open swales, constructed wetland areas, and a smaller hard-surface footprint all contribute to slowing water runoff, allowing it to permeate back into the groundwater system and protect the water quality of natural streams.

Forest Management

The forest around Seabrook is unhealthy in many places due to repeated logging. Following a long-term stewardship plan, dense forest stands are being selectively thinned to improve forest health and native plant diversity. Read More

Reclaimed Cedar

Reclaimed and salvaged cedar from trees and stumps on Seabrook sites is locally milled whenever possible and used as building material for fencing, landscape edging, bollards, signs, tree stakes, and National Park Style Arbors.

Regenerative Farm

Seabrook is committed to using local produce in its restaurants and market whenever possible. This will soon be even easier with Schultz Farm, Seabrook's new regenerative farm that uses compost taken directly from the town.

Environmentally-Friendly Building Practices

Recycled Materials

Seabrook Construction uses high-quality recycled materials, such as composite fiberboard made with wood fiber from sawmill waste, gypsum board with 14% recycled content, and reclaimed cedar for siding and shingles on some homes.

Durable Building Products

Long-lasting building materials protect homes from water intrusion and don't require repair or replacement as often. High-quality roofing and composite siding are used to help withstand harsh coastal conditions.

Energy Efficient Technology

Seabrook boasts the first LEED Platinum-rated single-family residence in Grays Harbor County. Energy Star appliances save energy by reducing water usage and water heating, and LED light fixtures use 75% less energy.

House Tightening

Properly sealing duct connections, plumbing openings, and electrical openings reduces the home's loss of heated and cooled air to less than 6%. Regular duct systems lose up to 30% of conditioned air, leading to increased energy usage.

Healthier Indoor Air Features

Clean air is circulated into the home, and old air is exhausted out with whole-house ventilation. Low VOC indoor paints, granite and quartz countertops, and tile floors have little to no chemicals to off-gas, improving air quality.

Landscaping Regulations

Seabrook encourages homeowners to use primarily native plant species while limiting non-native, ornamental plants, and prohibits private grass lawns. Existing topsoil is reserved during construction and reused for landscaping.

At Seabrook, every step of the building process is designed to work in harmony with nature, during construction and long after. This commitment extends beyond sustainability to the health of both the community and the planet. True beauty lies in the natural world, and the greenest choices are those made to last.