Proctor-area development marks Home in Tacoma ‘milestone’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Project used Home in Tacoma initiative to build three homes on subdivided lot.
- Two back townhouses went under contract within 24 hours of listing.
- City says it has multiple similar projects and ~100 proposed rowhouse units.
Tacoma is starting to see the first results of housing development as the result of its Home in Tacoma initiative.
The citywide program allowed for regulatory/zoning changes in areas to widen the market for multiple types of housing beyond single-family homes.
Developer-builder William McCaffrey (The Nexus Studio), in partnership with managing broker Kristine Isberg (Izzy RE Holdings LLC), introduced three new residences where there used to be one near the intersection of North 26th Street and North Stevens Street.
The former single-family residential lot, 4510 N. 26th St. now is home to two, two-bedroom townhomes at 950 square feet each and one, two-bedroom Craftsman-style home at 1,500 square feet.
Each is allowed to be owned separately.
Parking includes two spots in the back for the townhomes along with bike storage, and a detached two-car garage for the house.
McCaffrey recently met with The News Tribune on site to discuss the project and its evolution.
He noted that originally the three residences were marketed as a type of compound for one overall price, but later switched to individual sales.
“I actually built these hoping for owner-occupants,” he added, which ultimately became the sales approach for the three separate residences. The townhomes were priced in the mid-$400s, the house in the mid-$700s.
“The two back townhouses were on the market for 24 hours. They went on the market on Wednesday night at 7:30 and were both under contract by Thursday night,” he said.
That left only the main home available for viewing for the open house that weekend — now also under contract.
Cottage housing in Federal Way
The Tacoma project was not McCaffrey’s first attempt at smaller-home building.
In 2021, his Mirror Lake Highland Cottage Housing Demonstration Project in Federal Way, consisting of 16 cottage-style homes, was named regional Community of the Year at the New Home Council’s 12th Annual Tribute Awards.
The project was created under Federal Way’s cottage housing ordinance. According to reporting in the Federal Way Mirror, McCaffrey had earlier won a design competition sponsored by the City of Federal Way “to showcase sustainable design and cottage housing options.”
“That particular project — that was 16 variations of this house, basically,” he said in reference to the Tacoma house. “So I already had an idea of what I wanted to build (using) Home in Tacoma.”
Working with the city
McCaffrey told The News Tribune that his preparation included attending the city’s public meetings regarding Home in Tacoma and learning all he could about the changes.
From there, he moved forward quickly on finding the right development site.
McCaffrey’s LLC entity acquired the Tacoma site in the fall of 2024, ahead of final approval of Home in Tacoma in November by the city council and official implementation in February 2025.
Maria Lee, media representative for the city, told The News Tribune in response to questions via email that McCaffrey’s project represents “a significant milestone for the city.”
While a few single-unit backyard additions were completed earlier under the initiative, McCaffrey’s project is the first one completed “that utilizes the ordinance to construct a multi-unit development beyond a single backyard unit,” she wrote.
Both McCaffrey and Lee noted it was a learning process on both the developing side and permits.
“Because this was the city’s first Unit Lot Subdivision ... it required navigating new processes together, like recording specific Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and easements,” she wrote, adding that the work was “highly collaborative ... .”
She also noted that the city now has “at least three similar sites in the pipeline proposing a total of three units (such as a single-family home alongside a duplex).”
Beyond that, “We are currently processing numerous single-unit backyard additions, several multi-duplex proposals (ranging from four to six units per site), and around 100 proposed rowhouse units,” she added.
McCaffrey said his team broke ground June 1, and completed construction the week before Christmas. The properties went on the market in early January, “and everything will be closed by next week,” he said.
McCaffrey said he’d like to do more homes using the Home in Tacoma process.
“The big key is finding land,” he responded. “I’m particularly fond of the Proctor District, but there are other places to build, too.”
“I’m technically supposed to be working towards retirement,” he added. “But so much opportunity has come up from this. It’ll be interesting to see what unfolds.”
