Algyers Street Southeast, Rainier, WA 98576 - Thurston County

PUBLISHED RESERVE:$3,500,000

SIZE: 330 acres

ELEVATION: 460 to 520 Feet

ZONING: RRR5 (Rural Residential/Resource 5 Acre Minimum)

330 acre Lake Fifteen Tree Farm, with five-acre zoning to allow up to 65 homesites, is one of the largest tracts available for sale within Thurston County. It is a thirty-minute drive from I-5, Olympia, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which is the largest military installation within western United States, having 110,000 active duty, family members, and contract employees. Property has frontage along Algyers Road SE, just two miles south of Rainier, and Highway 507, which provides access to I-5, Yelm, and north to Olympia and Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

According to a September 2024 article in Nisqually Valley News, Yelm is fifth fastest growing city in Washington state, and first fastest growing city in Thurston County. Yelm is a ten minute drive from Lake Fifteen Tree Farm.

Thurston Regional Planning Council projects that Thurston County will continue to experience strong growth due to its strategic location in South Puget Sound along I-5, availability of lower cost land for development, and proximity to the state capitol in Olympia.

Under RRR5 zoning, Thurston County has a PRRD Ordinance for Planned Rural Residential Development which provides incentive to cluster development so that majority of property can be preserved, for either forest or agriculture use.

The 330 acre property has all the components that could be incorporated into a master plan rural development -- private lake, mature timber, and young reprod, with landscape to accommodate clustered homesites.

The 111 acres of 40 year-old Douglas-fir could be retained as managed forest, with future cash flow from selective harvest, and with an additional 24 acres of 13 to 33 year-old timber. Douglas-fir Site Index averages 120, providing a productive growing site.

There are 110 acres of 6 year-old reproduction. The majority of these acres could be used for up to 65 one and a half to two acre homesites as part of a planned rural development, with common access roads using existing logging road routes in many cases. Part of the property has some elevation, and homes might have views of Mt. Rainier. The main entry is at gate along Algyers Road SE.

Both a recreation and honey bee lease will be terminated prior to close of escrow.

4 acre Lake Fifteen could serve as a common recreation area for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. In addition, an equestrian facility with indoor arena could be sited in the southeastern portion. Property has secondary access near intersection of Runyon Road SE, and Algyers Road SE, by overhead power lines. An adjoining owner has easement for access here as well.

Other options for development of the 330 acres are as conventional five acre subdivision, or creation of four to five large estate tracts, all with shared timberland ownership for both near-term cash flow and long-term asset growth. There are a total of nineteen recorded parcels which could be used for creation of approximately five acre or otherwise large estate lots.

An additional option as opportunity to obtain added value is through sale or donation of a Working Forest Easement, which extinguishes 95% of the development rights so that the property would continue to exist as a tree farm, with homesites for an owner, or family compound. Capitol Land Trust, based in Olympia, is one organization that provides Working Forest Easements, along with Washington Department of Natural Resources which uses the Forest Legacy Program.

Acquisition of this 330 acre rural residential planned development property with private lake, 1.6 million board feet of timber, and location within 30-minutes of I-5, Olympia, and largest military base in the western United States, is a rare investment opportunity within the growing Puget Sound area at less than $10,625 per acre.

Supplemental Information Package is available. It contains additional detail on Thurston Countys Planned Rural Development Ordinance, timber inventory with type map, concept plans, Working Forest Easement information, preliminary title report, and bid documents.