‘Attainable’ townhomes to replace ‘workforce housing’ project at Tacoma property
The site of a formerly planned “workforce housing” development in the Charlotte’s Blueberry Park neighborhood of Tacoma has been sold to another developer with new plans for the property.
Green Harbor Communities’ The Preserve had been planned to bring more than 70 affordable homes on acreage next to the park.
In May, Green Harbor sold off eight parcels, 28.4 acres, to an LLC representing Soundbuilt Homes of Puyallup for $3.6 million, down from an original asking price of nearly $10 million in its original listing last April.
Kurt Wilson, chief operations officer with Soundbuilt, told The News Tribune via email in response to questions this week that townhomes are now planned for the property.
“We will be submitting a subdivision application for approximately 120 zero-lot line townhomes in an effort to bring more attainable housing to Tacoma,” he wrote.
Wilson added, “We are hoping to illustrate how effective zoning in the urban areas with transit and adequate utility service can provide increased opportunities for homeownership in Tacoma.”
With initial paperwork already completed with the city through the previous proposal, Wilson said developers hope to move through the permitting process “in less than 6 months after our application is made.”
The Preserve project was launched with the purchase in 2018 of the site from Tacoma Public Schools by the Green Harbor developers for $427,500.
That project was set to offer homes priced below $300,000 to those making $75,000 or less annually, via a leasehold program unique to the development. It also designated 22 acres for wetland preservation and preserving the site’s tree canopy at 70 percent.
Despite attracting attention both from city officials and national media for its goals, Green Harbor’s vision never took off. The Preserve struggled to find qualified buyers and found it increasingly difficult to offer low-cost housing amid rising costs, notably lumber. Spiraling lumber costs and a pandemic that blew up the construction supply chain added to the project’s demise, Michael Pressnall, one of the developers, told The News Tribune in April 2021.
A broker information packet from April 2021 described the property with 13.31 acres of buildable land and about 15 acres of wetlands, noting the site “provides mitigation opportunity for this project or other potential projects.”
The Preserve isn’t entirely just a memory. A notice of violation posted June 7 on the city’s permit portal shows an expired building permit tied to unfinished previous construction on site.
Wilson told The News Tribune, “It is for one of the homes onsite that is partially constructed and not planned to be finished with the new design proposal.”
The city did not provide any additional information to the violation in response to questions as of Wednesday evening.
The shifting plans are reflective of the changing demands in the area, as builders push to either get projects approved or finished before a market cool down takes hold.
Pre-application plans submitted to the city in December by another builder also proposed a townhome development on The Preserve site.
Other developments
Separately, a townhome project near The Preserve property, the 80-unit Pacific Ridge, 8445 Pacific Ave., is for sale for $30 million by Harbor Custom Development, one of six sites it hopes to sell. Sterling Griffin, president and CEO of Harbor Custom Development, told The News Tribune earlier this year the site would become apartments based on market demand. Harbor bought that property to develop in May 2021 from Azure Northwest Homes for $2 million.
Meanwhile, a new single-family home development has been proposed about two miles southwest of The Preserve.
A land-use public notice was posted Monday by the city of Tacoma of plans for the development at 1638 S. 80th St., a few blocks from Hosmer Street. According to the notice, the plans call for establishing 31 single-family residential lots with an average lot size of 4,500 square feet over 4.25 acres. The project, listed as Patterson Estates, is at the initial environmental review and critical areas verification stage for permits.
The site is generally located east of South Alaska Street, south of South 80th Street, and west of South Sheridan Avenue with its south line at 82nd Street extended, according to John Harrington, principal planner with the city.
Archived legal notices show another “Patterson Estates” plan was introduced in 2013 for 20-single-family residential homes over 3.4 acres, at that time listed “south of South 80th Street, south of the terminus of South Asotin Street.”
In the latest project, Harrington noted via email in response to questions that the “intersection of South Asotin Street and South 80th Street is at the proposed entrance to the development.”
Ark Properties LLC led by Vitaliy Mikshanskiy is the developer, represented by Contour Engineering of Gig Harbor in the land-use application.
Andrea Haug, South End Neighborhood Council vice chair, told The News Tribune this week, “Currently we are in the process of notifying community stakeholders of this project and have reached out” to the city for more information.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
