Stunning views, the latest amenities. These Tacoma homes can be yours for $3M apiece
Attention home buyers or just home dreamers, here’s what $3.2 million will get you in Tacoma: 4,700 square feet, five bedrooms and five baths, the latest kitchen gadgets, smart tech, high-end finishes and a three-car garage with EV charger — all with jaw-dropping views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound from Gig Harbor to the Nisqually River.
Those in the high-end real estate market might have trouble finding anything nicer than the home currently for sale at 4832 N. Mildred St.
Unless, of course, they walk a few feet to the house next door.
The sleek, modern, 5,000-square-foot home at 4838 N. Mildred St. has double the decks, slightly better views and bigger yards than its neighbor — all wrapped in a modern design. That home is also on the market — for $3.4 million.
The pair of brand new homes was built by Rush Residential of Gig Harbor. They are part of a seven-lot, gated enclave close to Point Defiance Park. But don’t call them spec homes, Rush vice-president Scott Walker said. He prefers the term semi-custom. That’s because each home is designed from the foundation up to make best use of its lot and to maximize views.
“We just had very specific visions of how we wanted to design and build these,” Walker said. “We did a lot of hard work and planning to try to protect the views.”
Development
The homes are on a dead end street or what real estate agents like to call a cul-de-sac. Rush priced the homes there from $2.7 million to the current $3.4 million house. One lot has yet to be built on. The first resident moved in around 2022, Walker said.
Rush’s property extends down to Salmon Beach. Some trees on the property were felled, which caused some Salmon Beach residents to complain it was done illegally.
The city determined Rush cut too many trees. Mitigation required Rush to replant the area with 1,000 trees. Walker called the years-long process “arduous.” The buffer zone, which has a habitat plan and 10-year bond, will be left to return to nature, he said.
“You will see a lot of wildlife down there,” he said.
Somewhere deep under the homes, freight trains travel through the Ruston tunnel. They’re too deep for their presence to be detected although it may be a novelty to consider that, several times a day, people and cargo are moving far below you.
Rush acquired the property decades ago, was stymied by the 2008 recession and is just now finishing the project. Each home takes 12 to 18 months to build, Walker said.
Design
The $3.2 million home uses what Windermere listing agent Cindy Marchand calls a transitional design. It’s somewhere between traditional and modern, she said. Both homes were styled by Rush’s in-house designer. Walker said the company attends trade shows to stay ahead of the latest trends and innovations. There are no details too small to consider, he said.
Both homes have walls of glass that maximize views. The modern home has what could be Tacoma’s most stunning laundry room. You can gaze at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge while folding underwear.
The homes make use of the great room concept: kitchen, dining room and living room all rolled into one. They feature high, vaulted ceilings. If a resident wants to escape the busy great room, they can simply descend one floor to another living room complete with mini kitchen, decks and extra bedrooms and bathrooms.
Both homes use a palette of light wood. The $3.4 million home uses Tambour in its kitchen and other areas in the home.
Amenities
Both homes have “dirty kitchens,” according to Marchand. That’s not a swipe against cleanliness but the term used for a combo pantry and mini kitchen off the main kitchen where a cook’s prep work can be done out of sight with a sink and microwave. The homes have faucets at their six-burner stoves to fill pots.
Cabinets have garage-style doors that lift up with the touch of a finger as well as next-gen lazy susans for those hard to reach corner cabinets where metal shelves both revolve and swing out. Kitchen islands are topped in white quartz.
The homes have wine refrigerators on both floors. The $3.4 million home’s main refrigerator is hidden behind matching cabinet panels.
The primary suites have walk-in closets and walk-in showers without thresholds. Free-standing soaking tubs are centerpieces. The $3.2 million home’s tub is set against view windows.
Both homes are wired for the latest smart technology, feature dual heat pumps for efficient heating and hot water tanks as well as on-demand hot water.
Who’s buying them?
“This is about the highest price range in Tacoma,” Walker said. In the real estate market, the homes would compete with older homes in Tacoma’s North End, Gravelly Lake mansions or view homes at Browns Point.
In Tacoma, the homes that attract the biggest crowds of would-be buyers range from $600,000 to $900,000, Marchand said. Homes with a view are a plus, she said. The median price for a Pierce County home is $650,000, Walker said.
Marchand is marketing the homes on social media and reaching out to real estate agents in Seattle and California who might have clients looking to get more bang for their millions.
“I’ll target areas in California that have views in the San Francisco area, down to Southern California,” she said.
Future residents could be retirees from Seattle or younger folks in the high-paying tech industry sector.
NOTE: This story has been amended to reflect details of tree removal and mitigation.
This story was originally published February 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
