ROB TUCKER; The News Tribune

It is designed to be the largest planned unit development in all of Pierce County - bigger than DuPont's Northwest Landing or South Hill's Sunrise.

By the time it's completed, it could house more than 16,000 residents in a community the size of nearby Bonney Lake and could contain businesses providing 9,500 jobs.

The development company purchased the plateau land south of Bonney Lake in 1991, obtained county permit approvals five years ago and had once planned to start construction last year.

But today, the giant project hasn't poured a single home foundation or framed an office building at a time when it had planned to be well into its first phase, which includes a school, a hotel and a golf course.

Whatever happened to Cascadia?

Its founders say groundbreaking has taken longer than expected because they had to work through years of permitting requirements and local agreements, as well as business recruitment, which continues. And the company wants to ensure, through it all, "that we get it right the first time," said Chuck Lappenbusch, senior vice president of development for Cascadia Development Corp. in Bellevue.

"If it needs to be slowed to get it right, we do it," he said.

The 4,719-acre development and its potential influences on east Pierce County still loom large: a major land-use shift from rural to urban, more people, job opportunities, resort-like facilities, dozens of road improvements and additional traffic.

The company said this month that it's moving forward with design and engineering work and plans to break ground this fall.

Then comes construction of a vast infrastructure, including roads, water and drainage systems. Sewer mains under the Carbon River will hook up to the Orting sewage treatment plant.

After that, home building should begin in 2006, said Patrick Kuo, president of the Cascadia Development Corp.

Eric Henrikson is a 22-year resident of Orting Road who lives on the plateau above the Carbon River that's supposed to become Cascadia. He and his rural neighbors have noted the company's long period of apparent inaction.

Henrikson remains concerned that if Cascadia builds apartments near his land, his property value might drop. And he doesn't look forward to heavier traffic when the company starts building.

But he said Cascadia represents a better land-use option than others proposed over the years, including a dump for treated sewage sludge.

"It's planned," he said, "But whether it gets developed remains to be seen."

Green light for first phase

Cascadia has permits to complete its first phase, including up to 1,719 homes, a hotel, golf course, an 80-acre business park, an 11-acre park and a school - and the infrastructure to support them.

Five years ago, it had invested $21 million in the home and business project without moving any dirt. Lappenbusch declined to give an updated figure, but said the company has spent many additional dollars since then.

Cascadia bought the land from the Weyerhaeuser Co. for $13.5 million in 1991 and has faced little opposition since then. It's within the county's designated urban growth boundaries, designed to protect outlying rural areas.

"I know it seems like they've been inactive," said Tom Ballard, county assistant public works director. "But they've been working with us for the last year" on proposed road improvements for the first phase of the development, he said.

The company knew that once it received county permit approvals five years ago, it could take up to a decade to recruit businesses and get everything right for building, Kuo said.

For instance, Lappenbusch said, the company had permits to build more than 100 homes in 1999, using septic tank systems. But it decided to wait for more permanent municipal sewer lines.

Cascadia and Orting negotiated a sewer connection agreement so that the development could use the city treatment plant. The agreement took several years to negotiate with city and state officials, but that's doing it right the first time, Lappenbusch said.

Won't stay rural forever

Robin Pfaff, who lives near the planned development, said she tried to convince her neighbors that the land wouldn't stay rural forever and that Cascadia wouldn't be "as bad as it seems."

Pfaff, a horse stable owner and 13-year resident, said she would rather see one large Cascadia than many small, uncoordinated developments on the plateau.

"I live at the end of the road," she said, so she likely won't see any development until Cascadia begins its third and last phase, many years away. "I'm not as panicked, as long as he will do it like he says he will."

She was referring to Kuo, who has met with Pfaff and her neighbors to discuss his plans for Cascadia. Kuo is a Seattle attorney, international businessman and founding investor of the Commerce Bank of Washington. He's also a member of the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County.

Kuo represented Taiwanese developers when he bought the Cascadia land. He said he's invested in the project himself.

Pierce County Councilman Shawn Bunney said he's all right with the delay if it makes for a better development.

"We're not in a hurry to get a project not well done," said the councilman, who represents the Bonney Lake area.

Area growing rapidly

East Pierce County was growing like gangbusters before Cascadia came along, and it will continue growing with or without Cascadia.

Orting has 1,180 home lots in the planning or building stage inside the city. Its sewer treatment plant has enough capacity to handle about 700 new connections. So, even without Cascadia, the city's already started engineering and design work for sewer plant expansion, said City Administrator Jim Mercer.

Cascadia also committed to improving three state highway intersections: two on Highway 410 in Bonney Lake and one on Highway 162 near Orting. But two of those have been improved by other agencies in the past several years, so Cascadia won't have to pay for them, state officials said.

The company still plans to pay for a state highway improvement on Highway 410 in Bonney Lake.

Converting 198th Avenue East, a rural road, into a wider arterial that helps connect Cascadia to Bonney Lake is one of many of county road projects that Cascadia will help fund.

Steve Burnham, chairman of the Bonney Lake Planning Commission, said in late February that commissioners didn't want Pierce County to widen 198th to four or five lanes, even though it's a main road into Cascadia. He said it would allow too much traffic to move north, choking roads and intersections in Bonney Lake.

Instead, Burnham said the county should build a three-lane northbound road leading to the city. That would force the county to build southbound roads to handle the traffic and direct more vehicles from Cascadia onto Highway 162 between Sumner and Orting.

But Bonney Lake Mayor Bob Young said the city administration supports the wider arterial from Cascadia north to Bonney Lake. He said it's too late to change county and Cascadia road plans, and he has no intention of trying.

After 13 years of paperwork and planning, Lappenbusch said the Cascadia development is set to go.

"It went through a very deliberate process," he said.

"We're getting to the point of critical mass," Kuo said.

Rob Tucker: 253-597-8374
rob.tucker@mail.tribnet.com