8-story transit-oriented apartment complex opens in Tacoma. It has great views, amenities
One of the newest Tacoma apartment sites celebrated its official ribbon cutting Wednesday, one of three projects in the city from a Seattle developer.
Cornus House, 2501 Commerce St., has 15 percent of its 199 units leased since its opening of the initial units in mid-December, according to representatives of property owner Great Expectations LLC.
“We’re doing about five leases a week here, which is kind of on track for where we need to be,” said Ben Maritz, founder of Great Expectations, in a brief interview Wednesday.
As a transit-oriented development site, parking is sparse, but the property is adjacent to the Sound Transit T Line light rail and even closer to Pierce Transit’s Route 1, its most frequent route.
Units range from studios to two-bedroom apartments, with sizes ranging from 350 to 700 square feet. The complex features a fitness center, central courtyard with fire pits and rooftop deck that overlooks the Tacoma Dome, LeMay-America’s Car Museum, the Foss Waterway and more. Listed rents so far range from $1,275 for a studio to $1,625 for one bedroom/bath. Two-bedroom units were not yet listed.
Bike storage is available along with, in the future, package delivery storage.
A café is planned for one of the retail spaces along with a private fitness studio.
Design of the site was led by Jackson Main Architecture, and construction was completed “under budget and on schedule” by Rush Commercial Construction, the development team noted in its property handout.
The 8-story site is an Opportunity Zone project that initially received a 12-year multifamily property tax exemption from the city before switching to the 8-year all-market rate version in 2022. Maritz told The News Tribune at the time that given market conditions, “we really had no choice” in order to manage both financing and completion of the project in a timely fashion.
Maritz on Wednesday noted his team felt it needed to remain committed to building its next site, the nearby Arbutus House, planned for 109 S. 25th St., as affordable.
Those plans call for a 200-unit building with “approximately 100 structured parking spaces in the alley-facing portions of the building that cannot be used for housing,” according to its listing online.
“It’s a tough time to get things out of the ground with interest rates and everything,” he told The News Tribune on Wednesday. “But we’re very committed to doing it as an affordable project. We feel like we owe the city something because this this was originally a (12-year) MFTE project.”
“We have designs. We have the environmental cleanup stuff organized. We just have to figure out the financing,” he added.
Meanwhile, plans are proceeding with his development firm’s latest Tacoma purchase, what Great Expectations’ calls its “Rialto Collection” project.
In September, a limited liability limited partnership affiliated with Great Expectations acquired 309-311 S. Ninth St. for $6 million from Pioneer Human Services, a nonprofit that works to assist individuals with criminal histories, substance-use disorders and mental health issues via housing, treatment, job training and employment.
One of the buildings, 309 S. Ninth St., was added to Tacoma’s Register of Historic Places in 2016 as the oldest known Tacoma residence and the second oldest building in the city outside of Fort Nisqually, according to its nomination information.
“The Italianate style Hosmer House was built in 1875 on Saint Helens Street and relocated to its present site in 1904,” according to the information provided to the city. It was designed by and the home of Theodore Hosmer, first mayor of New Tacoma as well as a leader of other civic ventures. The site was first converted into apartments in 1914.
Great Expectations’ 2024 roundup of accomplishments posted online stated that it had closed on “our Rialto Collection project in Tacoma, in partnership with Urban Black and the Tacoma Housing Authority. All homes in this project are reserved for households earning less than 50% of median income.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
