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Beachtown Announces Joint Project
with Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF)
Coastal Living Idea House at Beachtown Tours to benefit GHF
Beachtown’s Coastal Living Magazine Idea House will be opening its doors for tours starting March 6 and running through June. Beachtown has joined with Galveston Historical Foundation, one of the nation's largest local preservation organizations, to open the Coastal Living Idea House to the public with ticket proceeds benefiting GHF.
“We are pleased to share in the effort to restore the historic structures that are so important to the Galveston’s character,” said Beachtown’s founder Tofigh Shirazi. “Galveston Historical Foundation’s stewardship and preservation are remarkable and Beachtown is pleased to provide this fundraising opportunity to further their efforts.”
Beachtown’s developer and construction team worked with New
Urban Guild architect Michael Imber to design a house that blends
designs based on historic Galveston architecture with cutting edge modern construction techniques.
The Idea House, built in carpenter gothic style, was built several feet above the required base flood elevation. “This isn’t a typical house on stilts,” says Imber. “We wanted to create a house that stays true to its style in scale while relating to the neighborhood.”
The home was constructed using the stringent engineering guidelines of the Fortified…for safer living® program. No other community in Galveston besides Beachtown is built to these standards. Concrete columns, concrete beams, concrete floors, and steel portals were used to fortify the house against potential hurricane damage.
Imber’s design conceals the steel plates throughout the expansive porches, maximizing both structural integrity and beauty. This mix of beauty and high construction standards can be seen throughout the Idea House.
Atlanta-based interior designer Susan Bozeman was chosen to design the home’s interior spaces. She balanced historic style with the latest in new home design. “I wanted the house to look more ‘evolved’ than ‘decorated,’” she says.
Bozeman has created spaces that are functional, beautiful and cutting edge. Her media room, for example, houses University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)’s state-of-the-art telemedicine communication devices that enable a resident to communicate with a doctor, as if in the doctor’s office, while in the convenience of the home. The Idea House also features a marine-themed boy’s room with bunk beds, wood planks on all walls, and a bed tucked away in the corner that any kid would love to sleep in.
Coastal Living Idea Houses are built in coastal communities hand-selected by Coastal Living magazine for their environmental consciousness and sensitivity to shoreline preservation. Beachtown is the first new development within an existing historic city selected for an Idea House. The approximately 4,000-square-foot home reflects traditional Texas coastal design.
While Beachtown is new, it is designed to reflect the spirit of a historic neighborhood. When completed, the development is planned to be a walkable, neighborly, convenient community.
“Galveston Historical Foundation commends Beachtown and its founder for respecting and continuing the character of Galveston's historic neighborhoods,” said Dwayne Jones, GHF executive director. “The new homes incorporate the forms and details found in Galveston's rich architectural legacy and are placed in a unique setting that is destined to take its own place in our history and landscape.”
Galveston Historical Foundation is a major voice of preservation advocacy both locally and throughout the state. GHF's many departments, programs, events, and volunteers are all dedicated to its mission: preserving and revitalizing the architectural, cultural, and maritime heritage of Galveston Island for the education and enrichment of all.
Tours of the Idea House will be coordinated by GHF beginning Friday, March 6. Hours will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 with proceeds to benefit Galveston Historical Foundation. To purchase tickets online, click here https://tix.cnptix.com/tix/SilverStream/Pages/pgIndex.html?siteID=2040 or call 1-877-77CLICK (1-877-772-5425).
About Beachtown: Located on the east end of Galveston Island, Beachtown is the first New Urbanist community planned in Galveston or Houston, Texas. Master-planned by the international planning and architecture firm of Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co., Beachtown is a Traditional Neighborhood Development designed to be walkable, friendly, convenient and connected to nature. Encompassing wide sandy beaches and pristine lagoons, Beachtown is defined by parks, public spaces and natural passage. Beachtown is one of the few places in the South where nature is making beaches wider – at an average rate of over three feet per year. It is also the first community on Galveston Island to implement the Fortified…for safer living® program. The Fortified program, a national, inspection-based initiative developed by the Institute for Business and Home Safety, sets standards to make homes better able to resist natural hazards such as wind and water. Beachtown is minutes away from historic Galveston which contains the largest area of National Historic Landmark designation in the state of Texas. It is convenient to major airports and is one-mile from the distinguished teaching hospital, the University of Texas Medical Branch. For more information about Beachtown, visit www.beachtowngalveston.com.
