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It looks like Cascadia is finally to get underway

5K views 32 replies 12 participants last post by  tritown 
#1 · (Edited)
After over a decade, Cascadia, the monster planned community to be built just south of Bonney Lake on the plateau above Orting is finally going to break ground in the next few days according to the Business Examiner.

Location of site on Google Maps: Aerial photo of site

Here is an article from the Puget Sound Business Journal in 1998 on the project:

Cascadia dream finally nears reality

(man, were they 7 years off with that headline....)

A sprawling undeveloped plateau in eastern Pierce County may soon be transformed into a city unto itself, with housing for 10,000 people, an industrial/commercial complex, and recreational and hospitality facilities.

The dream is for Cascadia, designated an employment-based planned community under the county's comprehensive land-use plan, to rise on the 4,719-acre parcel between Bonney Lake and Orting over the next 20 years. It would become the state's largest planned community ever.

The first phase of construction will include 1,719 single and multifamily homes, an 80-acre business park, additional land for commercial use, and a conference hotel and golf complex with an 18-hole competition-quality golf course.

Cascadia Development Corp. of Bellevue, the project's sole owner, will complete preparation of an environmental impact statement and receive final plat approvals from Pierce County by year's end. It has worked with SWA Group of Sausalito, Calif., on the overall community design and landscaping.

Construction should begin in spring 1999, said Cascadia principal Patrick Kuo.

Two more development phases will follow. Phase II will total about 1,742 acres -- which includes 696 acres for residential use and 319 acres for business. Phase III incorporates the remaining 1,287 acres and will be parceled out similarly, but with more flexibility to match markets and the community's needs at the time of development.

Completing an integrated community of this magnitude from the ground up beckons comparisons with Reston, Va., Disney's Celebration in Orlando, Fla. -- even Brasilia, Brazil, the city carved out of a jungle.

(Click Here for rest of article)



From the Puyallup Herald last Friday:

Elementary No. 9 set to open in Cascadia Development by 2007

After more than a decade of hype, the promise of a master-planned community that could eventually include 6,500 homes is finally coming to fruition.

...
Cascadia development

* A groundbreaking for the 4,719-acre planned community is planned from 2 to 4 p.m. May 6, 2005 at 14500 198th Ave. E. in Sumner.

* The development will include 6,500 homes; 626 acres for business and industry, a resort-style hotel, conference centers and an 18-hole golf course; a town center with retail and restaurants; 183 acres for schools; 1,280 acres for parks and open space; and several entertainment areas.
 
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#27 ·
^we were comparing houses in both Seattle and Bellevue. If you want to compare condos in Seattle and Bellevue, Bellevue is up there with Seattle.

I don't know what kind of condo you found to be 800,000 unless it was close to the top of the building with a huge square footage. You'll find that both in Bellevue and Seattle.

The problem with the supply and demand is that there are too many hurdles developers have to go through in Seattle compared to Bellevue. Bellevue has a way of speeding things up something Seattle doesn't seem to have. Seattle wants to study everything before doing it. Case in point, the viuduct. They want to study if it would indeed bring more money to the city or not. Wouldn't it be faster and better if they just build the tunnel, open up the waterfront and make the waterfront work to help bring money? I mean instead of spending money on some study that will tell us something we already know and wasting time on top of that too.

That's the reason why Bellevue is booming right now. They know that growth is happening fast and they need to figure out and accomodate that growth in a manner that will help the economy instead of just ignoring it and using the "let's discourage people from moving here approach" because we all know that's never going to work. Something Seattle seems to feel confortable with. IMO studying every single thing is a waste of money and time. I think it's easier and faster if you just DO IT and work with it along the way to figure out the niche that will help improve it if necessary.
 
#29 ·
J.A.C. said:
^we were comparing houses in both Seattle and Bellevue.
You are, not me. This whole topic is about the thivery & extortiion in Seattle that is making it more expensive & less affordable to build * live in Seattle which contributes to sprawl.

Did you read today's P-I? City loves to extort developers

If you want to compare condos in Seattle and Bellevue, Bellevue is up there with Seattle.
How much are the govt. related costs in Seattle vs. Bellevue when it comes to building a high rise condo?


The problem with the supply and demand is that there are too many hurdles developers have to go through in Seattle compared to Bellevue.
MY WHOLE ENTIRE POINT! Seattle's regressiveness, thivery, & extortion has made it more expensive & more difficult to build in the city which contributes to sprawl.


Seattle wants to study everything before doing it.

...and want to extort as much money as possible for pet projects.




Today's P-I -

For the first time, developers who go above a certain height limit would be required to build "green buildings" with environmentally friendly features, such as rainwater collection systems or recycled building materials.

Residential developers would now have to contribute to an expanded program that builds affordable housing, potentially increasing that pool of money by $35 million over the next 15 years.



If you want to slow down sprawl, end the thivery & extortion in Seattle.
 
#30 ·
Did any one of these articles mention how roads are going to be made to get to this place? If so I missed it.

I was just up in another "masterplanned community", Lakeland hills in Auburn, and the traffic was horrendous! 167 to the Algona Pacific exit, a disaster. Then crappy, congested surface streets to a brand new Lake Tapps parkway. I can't imagine why anyone would want to live so far out with out the question of transportation being addressed.

If it weren't for the free dinners I would never go back.
 
#31 ·
rj2uman said:
Did any one of these articles mention how roads are going to be made to get to this place? If so I missed it.
410 is due to be upgraded & expanded. Eventually, it may become the western part of I-82 from Yakima if a Naches Pass tunnel is ever constructed.


I can't imagine why anyone would want to live so far out with out the question of transportation being addressed.
Don't think of this with a Seattle perspective, think about this development from a Tacoma-Puyallup perspective.
 
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