Hundreds of new apartments proposed for vacant property near Tacoma middle school
A South End Tacoma property near a parcel that was the recent focus of a land-use designation change is being considered for a new apartment project.
A pre-application was filed Nov. 10 with the city for a proposed 400-unit project at 1830 S. 48th St. on vacant property between Interstate 5 and South 49th Street and near Giaudrone Middle School. The site is owned by the parent company of Mor Furniture, Wesco Management LLC.
It is part of a collection of parcels that was to become a Mor furniture store in plans first reported in 2014, the same year Wesco purchased the parcel tied to the pre-application.
Mor instead opened a store near the Tacoma Mall, and now, nearly 10 years later, plans for the original property appear to be shifting to apartment development.
The store location switch came during city deliberations over a land-use designation change for one of Wesco’s parcels south of the current proposed apartment site as part of the city’s slate of 2023 code amendments.
Wesco asked for the land-use designation to be changed from low-scale residential to general commercial to match its adjacent parcels and remove it from the city’s Parks and Recreation Facilities Map.
The parcel tied to the proposed apartments was already zoned as general commercial.
The City Council approved an amended version of the proposal in August, which called for avoiding “new higher density resident development in proximity” to Interstate 5 and state Route 16 due to “the adverse air quality and noise impacts associated ... . Where such residential use is located in proximity to Interstate 5 and state Route 16, use building design and site design elements, such as setbacks and landscaped buffer areas, and other techniques, to mitigate the negative effects of air pollution and noise on residents.”
It also stated, “The owner of the Mor Furniture site has offered to record a restrictive covenant on the property limiting the uses that may be developed on the site, which shall be a condition precedent to any future rezone of the Mor Furniture site.”
Maria Lee, media representative for the city, told The News Tribune in response to questions the pre-app had not yet “been routed for feasibility.”
“We cannot provide any feedback at this point in time on whether the proposal meets applicable City or development code requirements,” Lee said.
The project pre-app lists construction starting in March 2026, with permits submitted March 2025, though dates listed in pre-apps are estimates and generally not considered a true timeline.
A representative listed in a project meeting with the city did not respond to questions from The News Tribune; a Wesco/Mor Management representative also did not respond to a request for comment about the proposal.
