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Beachtown, Galveston Stands Test of Hurricane Ike

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Superior standards and planning have made Beachtown, an impeccable model for coastal construction. Beachtown's lot sales started in 2005 the year Hurricane's Katrina and Rita devastated theLouisiana and Texas Gulf Coasts.

Beachtown's founder, Tofigh Shirazi, realized, "The economics of the damage alone is astounding, but more importantly the safety of the people living in hurricane-prone areas is of the utmost concern," said Shirazi. For that reason, he made it his mission to bring the Fortified ... for safer living (R) program to Beachtown to ensure residents would have peace of mind in the event of a storm like Ike.

Developed by the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), the Fortified(R) program is a national, inspection-based initiative to increase homes' resistance to natural hazards such as wind, fire and floods. Beachtown is the first community on Galveston Island affiliated with the Fortified (R) program.

Beachtown has not only applied the new Fortified building standards to the community but in many cases even exceeding the requirements. David Franklin of Aran & Franklin Engineering said the homes in Beachtown were raised two to three feet above base flood requirements and were strengthened by taking measures that include exceeding IBHS' wind speed requirements, using concrete structures and steel portals and installing the strongest windows and doors available. Each home is independently inspected by an IBHS appointed structural engineer throughout the various phases of construction to ensure the Fortified requirements are being met and home construction adheres to the engineer's plan.

"Beachtown definitely raised the bar," said Franklin. "And the proof is in the results."

Beachtown was chosen as the best community for 2008 being selected as the site for the Coastal Living Idea House. Each year the magazine selects a community that celebrates the best in coastal home innovation, decor and construction.

"The homes are built in coastal communities hand-selected by the magazine for environmental consciousness and sensitivity to shoreline preservation as well as taking extreme measures to safeguard against wind and rain," said Kay Fuston, Coastal Living Magazine editor-in-chief. "Even still, when the eye of Hurricane Ike passed over the area, we held our breath but had peace of mind knowing the house was built to that standard. We were relieved but not surprised to see how well it withstood the power of Ike."

The Coastal Living Idea House remains unscarred by Ike outside of the break-away zone and will open to the public when theCity of Galveston is ready to embrace visitors. Proceeds from public tours will benefit the Galveston Historical Foundation.

After experiencing a direct hit by one of the largest hurricanes in history, Beachtown is ready to get back on track and move forward. "We are one Galveston Island -- East end to West end -- and will work together to rebuild. We will share our practices to the best of our ability so that historic Galveston continues to be a source of inspiration to residents and tourists from around the world," said Shirazi.

About Beachtown: Located on Galveston Island's East end, Beachtown is the first New Urbanist community planned inGalveston orHouston, Texas. Along with the most stringent of building codes, Shirazi gathered the nation's most seasoned urban planners and architects. Beachtown was master-planned by Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ), noted master-planner ofFlorida's seaside andRosemary Beach communities and widely acknowledged as the leader in New Urbanism. DPZ's principals, Andres Duany and his wife, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, co-founded the Congress for New Urbanism, which The New York Times labeled "the most important collective architectural movement inthe United States in the past 50 years." In 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Duany's expertise was enlisted inWashington DC to assist in creating building guidelines for the Gulf Coast area affected by the storm. In addition to bringing in the Fortified standards creating a hurricane-strong community on the shores ofGalveston, Duany and Shirazi were joined bySan Antonio, Texas' Michael Imber;Miami Beach, Florida's Steve Mouzon;Beaufort, South Carolina's Eric Brown;Austin, Texas' Milosav Cekic;Beaufort, South Carolina's Eric Moser. Beachtown architect, Michael Imber, is also well-versed in designing for hurricanes. In 2007, the architect of the The Coastal Living Idea House at Beachtown was awarded The Driehaus Form-Based Code Award presented by the City ofGulfport, Mississippi. Beachtown's Traditional Neighborhood Development is designed to be walkable, friendly, and convenient and connected to nature. Encompassing wide sandy beaches and pristine lagoons, Beachtown is defined by parks, public spaces and natural passages. Beachtown is minutes away from historicGalveston which contains the largest area of National Historic Landmark designation in the state ofTexas. 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 http://www.beachtowngalveston.com or call 800-270-8595.

SOURCE Beachtown