Bonney Lake | Fast-growing, easygoing, scenic
Back in the smaller-town days of Bonney Lake, it was A Very Big Deal when McDonald’s moved in. Fred Meyer’s arrival was huge. And the 10-screen movie theater was almost too much to bear.
More recently, Home Depot, Target and a supersized Wal-Mart have settled in, with Red Robin, Lowe’s and another not-yet-to-be disclosed retail mammoth on the way.
Ho-hum. These days, it’s news when a wooded parcel of land isn’t scooped up for another retail opportunity - or another housing development.
A few years ago, Bonney Lake, perched on a scenic plateau about midway between Seattle and Tacoma, was the state’s second-fastest-growing city. Folks just couldn’t get resist the relatively affordable housing, the high-achieving Sumner School District, the right-there view of Mount Rainier and that out-of-the-big-city vibe. As a result, the city’s population is now more than 11,000, up from 7,500 in 1990.
The let’s-move-to-Bonney-Lake flurry has eased a bit recently, said real-estate agent Juli Bell - homes in Bonney Lake stayed on the market an average of 86 days in March but were lingering about 140 days by September, when a search of the area’s 652 active listings found a median home price of about $341,000 and a price range from $110,000 to almost $2 million.
Still, more houses are going up, more apartments are switching to condos and more people - first-time buyers, young families and older downsizers - keep coming.
To the few who are not moving here, Bonney Lake is likely a mere blip on the cognitive radar screen. Maybe they drove through Highway 410 on a ski trip to Crystal. Or stopped for a stein of authentic German beer at what used to be an authentic baron’s restaurant. Or maybe they launched a boat at Lake Tapps, a lovely lake that isn’t really a full-time lake.
“Bonney Lake has a lot to offer,” said Bell, with John L. Scott Real Estate. “The lake is a huge draw. The housing is cheaper than King County, but you don’t have to live really far out. You can have a nice home, have some property and still be close to everything.”
Moving up and out
Bonney Lake has been around a while. Established in 1853, it was incorporated in 1949 with 327 residents.
Some of the city’s more-established neighborhoods are clustered around two smaller lakes, Lake Debra Jane and Lake Bonney. You might wonder why someone would opt for a house there when big, beautiful Lake Tapps beckons so nearby. Here are two possible reasons:
1) Lakes Debra Jane and Bonney allow no motorboats.
2) These days, practically every home on Lake Tapps without the word “mobile” in front of it is an automatic million-dollar investment.
During Bonney Lake’s supergrowth, housing moved farther out, and big chunks of once-forested land suddenly sprouted single-family homes, condos and town homes.
Today, intersection after intersection is dotted with housing and/or realty signs: Panorama Heights, Skyline Estates, Copperfield, Willow Brook, Indigo Ridge. And the granddaddy of them all, the 5,000-acre “master planned community” of Cascadia, is in the works on a chunk of unincorporated Pierce County between Bonney Lake and Orting.
Though technically not part of Bonney Lake, City Clerk Woody Edvalson said, the main way to get there will be through Bonney Lake. And that means Highway 410.
The road to growth
For a fast-growing city, Bonney Lake has few big issues. Said Edvalson: “Most people worry about traffic.”
In Pierce County, if you want to see a commuter shudder, mention Puyallup’s South Hill. There, Meridian Avenue is lined with strip malls, on the way to even more housing developments, with traffic backups even in the middle of a weekday.
Some folks fear Highway 410 is headed down that path.
“There is more traffic now with some of the developments,” Bell said. “I think commuter-wise, that is going to the biggest thing - if we don’t get more roads.”
In fact, Edvalson said, the city is working to update its comprehensive plan (including transportation), plus it has adopted a downtown plan. So far, unlike its Sumner and Buckley neighbors, Bonney Lake doesn’t have a quaint, picturesque downtown.
“It’ll give the city a focus point other than our elongated commercial corridor,” he said. “It’ll be centered around municipal government, a civic center, courts, police, the library.”
Mixed-use areas are planned, too, with residential space above retail shops.
Even in a city used to growth, that’s kind of A Big Deal.