By Stephen Rolston, Founder of Land Ark Homes
Seaside on the left, the Westport on the right.
Forty years ago Seaside, Florida broke the mold.
Today, those world-changing ideas make Watercolour a better place to call home.
Before Seaside, new homes were built in the suburbs within a maze of cul-de-sacs and crescents that lead nowhere. Communities were soulless, leaving residents disconnected from each other and nature.
Visionary developer Robert Davis and renowned architects Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk changed all that with Seaside.
Founded in the 1980s, Seaside was conceived as an antidote to sprawling, car-dependent suburbs. Residents could leave their cars behind and enjoy the simplicity of life in a compact, walkable town. Inspired by traditional Southern coastal towns, Seaside features charming cottages with welcoming front porches, native landscaping, and a layout that emphasizes proximity to neighbors and the natural environment.
Sound familiar?
Watercolour Westport shares a similar philosophy, offering a modern twist by integrating Net Zero Energy Ready homes that connect residents to nature and neighbors. Both communities stand as models of thoughtful planning and innovation where residents can embrace a lifestyle that combines sustainability, tradition, and community.
Although they’re similar, there are some important differences. Seaside was built on 80 acres of swamp and scrub along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s a “new old town” community. Watercolour is planted in a historic village in the middle of some of those most spectacular cottage country in North America. The village is a place first called Westport in 1841, named based on its location at the west end of Upper Rideau Lake, part of the Rideau Canal Waterway that connects Kingston to Ottawa.
Seaside was planned to incorporate timeless urban planning principles. Its streets are lined with pedestrian paths and homes are arranged around a central square and community gathering spaces, creating a harmonious balance between private living and public engagement. The town’s mixed-use design includes shops, restaurants, and cultural venues within easy walking distance of every home, fostering a lively and interconnected environment.
All of this existed already in Westport. Unlike Seaside, whose quaint downtown and period-looking post office are actually modern day interpretations of a village, Westport is actually an historic village.
To make Watercolour walkable, we chose a modified grid design when designing the streets. While respecting natural corridors and topography, modified grids help create liveable neighborhoods that make walking easy. Streets that come together at right angles slow traffic. It’s easy and intuitive to find your way through a neighborhood laid out on a modified grid and safer walking on sidewalks. Big front porches make the street feel safer.
One new Watercolour resident told us that they use their car so little now that they have to remember to turn it on periodically so the brakes don’t seize and the battery stays charged.
A grid design isn’t new, it’s actually going back to what worked best, before the automobile took over our lives. At Watercolour, we’re matching the proven modified grid pattern of Westport to help keep the village walkable and accessible to the healthiest form of transportation.
Watercolour Westport isn’t Seaside but some of the same things that made the Florida community revolutionary are what make Watercolour a better place to call home.