The Rush Companies will start building new homes this fall in Gig Harbor, just a few minutes away from State Route 16 and downtown. Called Bellesara, the development will include 31 homes ranging from 2,600 to 3,000 square feet. The homes will include high-end amenities and two — or three-car garages, and will be priced at $400,000-$450,000.

Development of the lots already has begun off Wollochet Drive, with house construction to commence in late fall. The short plat had been approved by the city in 2006, but the previous owner did not build and the property had gone back into bank possession. Rush made a few modifications and resubmitted the plans, according to Scott Walker, the company’s residential vice president. read more »

The aim of the Housing Design Demonstration Project on Bainbridge Island was to create incentives for developers to build subdivisions that offer green and/or affordable housing. Four projects taking advantage of incentives such as “bonus density” offered by the ordinance are in different stages of development. Ferncliff Village has completed 24 homes that are now mostly occupied read more »

Scott McIntosh doesn’t have a fancy shop filled with equipment and machinery. In fact, he doesn’t have a shop at all. But the finish and carpentry work he’s been doing over two decades has inspired quite a bit of praise. McIntosh, who owns Island Carpentry based on Fox Island, travels around with all his tools to build cabinets, mantels, closet organizers and various other wood pieces on site. The result, he says, is much better quality because everything is made to fit just right. read more »

Like the view over the water from the downtown side of Bremerton’s Manette Bridge? That’s what many residents would see out their living room windows high above the street in a planned five-story apartment building, which might be the most likely of various proposed apartment projects downtown to actually get built.

The Spyglass Hill project includes 80 apartments in a building facing Washington Avenue just south of the bridge, and there are plans for six two-story townhomes on the opposite side of the site facing Highland Avenue. read more »

Building a roundabout at State Route 305 and Suquamish Way may be the most effective solution for improving traffic flow at the busy intersection, where backups of westbound traffic from Bainbridge Island routinely stretch to a mile and a half during peak afternoon commute times.

It’s also the most expensive option under consideration by the Washington State Department of Transportation read more »

Bellevue-based Quadrant Homes has several developments still under construction in the Greater Kitsap Peninsula area, including some in Gig Harbor and Poulsbo that are looking to attract the move-up market. The company is currently selling homes in two developments in Poulsbo, one in Port Orchard and one in Gig Harbor, and another one in Gig Harbor will start construction soon.

Vinland Pointe, near the Oldhava area of Poulsbo, will include 90 homes priced in the low — to mid-$300,000 range. A few presales as well as showcase homes are already under construction, with the rest expected to be built through 2014. Liberty Hill, nearby, includes 71 homes that have been selling since mid-2011 and sold out in August. read more »

A Martha & Mary affordable senior housing complex in Kingston is nearly complete, with apartments to be available for move-in around November.

The Martha & Mary Village Green Apartments are part of a grass-roots community hub called the Village Green, which will also include a community center, library, a park and other amenities. read more »

When Bobbie Moore and her husband returned to Kingston after living on the East Coast for several years, the couple felt they could retire there. But something was missing. Moore wanted a community with more amenities — a nice park and modern library, among other things.

So she became involved with a nascent grass-roots effort to bring a community center to Kingston read more »

Mel Holgerson still remembers the Kitsap Peninsula when the highway was mostly a two-lane road without any overpasses. In fact, he recalls the Interstate 5 corridor only without the interstate. When I-5 opened, the drive was so nice, he and his wife would drive from their Tacoma home to Seattle just to get fish and chips at Ivar’s.

A semi-retired civil engineer, Holgerson is not a household name in Kitsap but he’s had a hand in something read more »