First homes in new higher-end development near JBLM could be available by this fall
A new housing development near Joint Base Lewis McChord recently broke ground, bringing higher-end homes to the market.
Vancouver, Washington-based Pacific Lifestyle Homes is developing Acorn Park. The company opened its Puget Sound division, based in Tacoma, in 2013.
The company operates under both the Pacific Lifestyle Home and Garrette Custom Homes brand.
Pacific Lifestyle Homes’ other projects include Summer Lane in University Place, Aster Point in Edgewood and McCormick Trails, part of the McCormick Master Planned Community in Port Orchard.
The new development is near Military Road South and 20th Avenue Court South next to the Wellancourt neighborhood in Spanaway.
Seventeen homes are planned for the site, which is in the Bethel School District.
The homes will be a mix of one- and two-story models and will come with complementary packages, including smart home technology features.
“The Smart Home Technology Package features programmable lights, climate, and locks to the two Amazon Echo devices included in each home,” according to a recent news release from the developer.
“Buyers can monitor their home remotely and program music, temperature and security settings. Every home at Acorn Park is wired to be EV ready,” it added.
Prices will start in the high $700,000s, according to Matt Lewis, Puget Sound Division president of Pacific Lifestyle Homes.
Lewis spoke to The News Tribune this week about the project.
“It will be on the higher range probably for that area, but but we’re really offering something totally different,” he said Thursday.
Redfin this month shows Spanaway median home sales price at $468,000, down 8.2 percent from the same period last year.
“The home sites are around 13,000 square feet, so almost a third of an acre,” Lewis said. “We can do all of our Rambler plans, which are very popular for the downsizer, the empty-nester. Obviously the proximity to JBLM would lend itself to both active duty but also retired military.”
According to the company’s release, floor plans range from 1,982 to 2,909 square feet, with 2-5 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms, with multi-vehicle garages.
“With the large home sites, 3 and 4 car garages are available for most plans,” Lewis noted.
“We will have CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions) but they will allow the parking of boats and RVs as long as they’re screened and in the rear of the home or the side or the rear of the home,” he added. “So that’s attractive to people who live in the Northwest who are trying to get out and play and have some toys.”
The developers first submitted plans with the county in May 2019. Pierce County deputy hearing examiner Michael McCarthy approved the project in September 2020, following a public hearing in July of that year.
Some tree preservation was included under the approval terms.
“I think the other attractive amenity is we had to put a couple acres into a tree preservation tract,” Lewis said. “And so you’ve got about half of the homesites backing up to this protected green space, and it’s all framed in the fir trees.
“So, even though you are by the airbase and the freeway, you’re just sort of nestled in the woods there,” he added.
Census data from the same year Acorn Park filed plans with the county showed a growing number of households earning $200,000 or more annually moving into different Pierce County areas, including Spanaway.
The company purchased the site in 2022 from a local LLC for $1.76 million. Lewis said that pre-sales could start as early as June, with the first homes move-in ready possibly sometime in the fall.
“We will build some some speculative homes, but our model is really more pre-sale oriented,” he said. “We have the customer pick one of our plans and then we have a design studio that they use to pick all of their interior finishes.”
To be added to the company’s contact list for pre-sales, go to pacificlifestylehomes.com/new-home-communities/acorn-park/.
