Massive apartment complex pitched west of I-5 in Tumwater
What appears to be the largest apartment proposal in Thurston County has been pitched in Tumwater, city information shows.
Developers are proposing a 1,282-apartment complex spread across five buildings on 25 acres between Israel Road and Tumwater Boulevard, west of Interstate 5, under the name of Yorkshire.
The project is proposed to have a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse, 1,700 parking stalls, and a 2,400-square-foot Starbucks with drive-thru.
“Not sure I’ve heard of one as large,” said Tumwater Community Development Director Mike Matlock about other apartment projects in the county, but it’s “certainly the largest in Tumwater.”
Matlock recently met with developer representatives for a feasibility review. Project representative and architect Glenn Wells could not be reached by The Olympian.
During the feasibility review meeting, Matlock learned that Tyee Drive would connect to the development site and it would generate the need for a new roundabout on Tumwater Boulevard. Of the five buildings, two are envisioned to be 6 stories, while the other three are 5-story structures, he said.
To build five or more stories, the developer will need to secure a conditional use permit, meaning that if the project moves forward it will come before the Tumwater Hearings Examiner, Matlock said.
There also is a 65-foot height restriction in the area; however, if the developer committed to 30 percent of the units being permanently affordable, they could build to 75 feet, he said.
That appears to be a possibility.
Fourth Street Housing LLC is the applicant for the project, a company that had a hand in developing Merritt Manor, the affordable apartment complex on Martin Way in Olympia. The property owner has been identified as Tumwater Center Limited.
More apartments in Lacey
Meanwhile, northeast Lacey, an area already thick with multifamily housing proposals, has received another one, according to Lacey information.
RJ Development of Olympia has submitted plans for the Winston Apartments, a 188-unit apartment complex on the southwest corner of 31st Avenue Northeast and Willamette Drive.
In recent months, more than 1,000 multifamily units have been proposed in northeast Lacey.
To comment on the Winston Apartments, a project much further along than Tumwater’s Yorkshire, send an email to Senior Planner Sarah Schelling at sschelli@ci.lacey.wa.us or by mail to Lacey Community Development Department, 420 College St. SE, Lacey, WA 98503. The comment period ends at 5 p.m. Jan. 26.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
