regenerative Development

Salish Sea Farms

Point Roberts, Washington

Regenerative Farm & Fisheries | Mixed Use Development | Circular Design

Salish Sea Farms is dedicated to honoring and revitalizing ancient food traditions of the Salish Sea. The project is a testament of how farming and community development can be mutually supportive.

Integrated development

Salish Sea Farms was inspired out of a vision to revitalize land and sea while contributing towards the development of a place that has been central to the food web of the Salish Sea for thousands of years.

The project includes the following components:

45-acre multi-species regenerative farm designed for silvopasture agroforestry
Salmon and seaweed harvesting and processing
32-room oceanside boutique hotel in an adaptively reused cannery
Mixed use development including market-rate and workforce housing and commercial development

Overview

The Salish Sea is one of the world’s largest and biologically rich inland seas. The area spans from the Campbell River in British Columbia to the north and the Puget Sound to the South. With snowcapped peaks, glacier-fed rivers and hundreds of islands, the Salish Sea is breathtaking ecosystem that has shaped human habitat and culture for millennia.

The geographic heart of the Salish Sea is the small community of Point Roberts, Washington. Located on the southern most tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, this area is called Chelhtenem, or “Place of the Fish Racks,” by the Coast Salish people. It is here that one of the most innovative regenerative real estate projects is taking root.

The project has the following components:

farm-to-table hotel

The hotel is located on 4-acres of oceanfront property that overlooks the Gulf Islands in close-by British Columbia. It plays with themes of old and new in several ways by combining the adaptive reuse of a cannery building with a new addition that will feature 32-guests rooms, two restaurants, and a commercial processing kitchen. The hotel will provide guests with a multi-sensory experience to learn about the indigenous history of Point Roberts, and experience the expression of the land and sea through unique culinary experiences.

regenerative farm

The terrestrial-based aspect of the farm is based on an agroforestry design that will be managed regeneratively that will raise chickens, pigs, and sheep, as well as cultivate fruits and nuts.

For seafood, the farm will work closely with the Salish Center for Sustainable Fisheries to source locally caught wild salmon from indigenous fishermen using an ancient fishing method called reef netting that has historically been practiced on the present day Point Roberts for thousands of years.

Housing & Mixed-Use Development

Through the ecologically sensitive wastewater treatment capability with the farm, an opportunity is created to optimize the farm’s land with commercial zoning. This land will be used to develop much needed for sale and rental housing and mixed use commercial spaces. The initial phase will build homes for rent and sale that is needed by the hotel, farm, and other businesses within the community. An additional phase will include the development of a mixed-use town center that will bring further economic opportunity to the community.

Embracing Circularity

What makes this project standout is its closed loop circular design. The wastewater and stormwater from the homes, commercial buildings, and hotel have been designed to treat and provide irrigation water and life-giving nutrients to the farm. This practice is a more environmentally sensitive approach over private septic systems which the local community relies upon.

My background is in civil engineering and earthworks. When I read about Mark Shepard’s irrigating farms by capturing and dispersing water through a keyline design system with swales, I knew this would be a great way to help bring the land back to life.
- Stephen Brisbane, project principal

Land Acknowledgement

The tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula in present day Point Roberts, was known as “Chelhtenem” by the Coast Salish. The name translates as “Place of fish racks,” as the Cowichan, Lummi, Stanch, and Semiahmoo tribes used this strategic location for summertime salmon fishing and processing for thousands of years.