By Shawna De La Rosa
November 30, 2022

A Tacoma luxury apartment complex that opened earlier this fall near Joint Base Lewis-McChord is seeing a rapid lease-up, its developer says.
Tacoma-based Harbor Custom Development (Nasdaq: HCDI) completed the 80-unit Pacific Ridge development at 8445 Pacific Ave. after purchasing vacant 1.85-acre property for $2 million in May 2021.

So far, it's about 75% leased and getting a better-than-expected response in a part of Tacoma that has had little new apartment construction.

"Most of our renters are military, with quite a few from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, or they are first-time renters who grew up in the area," said Jeff Habersetzer, Harbor Custom's chief operating officer. "We're fulfilling a need in this community and have had a positive response from the market."

He expects the apartments to be fully leased in early 2023.

The project's "high-quality finishes" and proximity to Interstate 5 as major reasons for the interest, Habersetzer said.

Rents for the units in the five-building, walk-up style development range from $1,195 to $2,045 per month. Units range between 384 and 1,100 square feet. The prices are in line average rent in Pierce County, which is approximately $1,682 in buildings with 50 units or more, according to a third quarter report by Kidder Mathews.

Pacific Ridge was originally planned as a condominium project aimed at new homebuyers. Units were to be marketed for $300,000 to $400,000.

Harbor Custom changed course last spring when market conditions changed, and opted to complete the development as apartments instead. At the time, Harbor Custom also included the project in a six-property portfolio currently on the market for $278 million.

"Our approach is to develop to the surrounding community's needs and tailor the product to the buyers in that specific market," Sterling Griffin, president and CEO of Harbor, said at the time. "Whether that's luxury homes with scenic views, condominiums in desirable suburbs, or apartments, we pride ourselves on creating communities our customers are delighted to return to every day."

The other properties in the portfolio include: Belfair View in Belfair, 228 units; Tanglewilde in Lacey, 177 units; Bridgeview Trails in Port Orchard, 138 units; Wyndstone in Yelm, 78 units; and Mills Crossing in Bremerton, 36 units.

Kidder Mathews' Austin Kelley, Bruce Peart, Ted Sipila and Arielle Dorman are the brokers for the apartment portfolio.

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Harbor Custom Development Inc. published this content on 30 November 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 01 December 2022 19:13:02 UTC.