Resilient designs and skyline views are attracting the first wave of residents to the 478-unit Clippership Wharf condominium and apartment complex in East Boston.

Residents began moving into the Slip65 condo component in August, after selling out in eight weeks. The apartment component which also opened last month is 50 percent leased. The second condo phase, Slip45, is more than 60 percent presold ahead of summer 2020 move-ins, developer Lendlease announced this week.

The project at 65 Lewis St. is the city’s first to include a living shoreline of plantings and riprap designed to absorb storm surges. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and state and nonprofit environmental figures attended a groundbreaking ceremony this morning for the project, which spans 12 acres of former industrial waterfront.

“Clippership Wharf’s forward-thinking design has elevated living space in an effort to prevent future flooding while creating living shorelines that help connect the community with coastal habitats,” state Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said in a statement.

Designs placed the lowest residential floors 14 feet above current high tides and covered the shoreline with 7,000 feet of riprap and plantings to absorb storm surges. And portable flood gates will protect ground-floor spaces from inundation. The complex includes a new extension of the Boston Harborwalk and public art installations and a kayak rental center.