Foster City, California-based real estate firm Legacy Partners is diversifying its Pacific Northwest assets with a new 240-unit garden-style project. 

Legacy at University Place, located in University Place, Washington, is underway with New York City-based investor Silverpeak Real Estate Partners as a joint venture partner. Legacy and Silverpeak recently closed on the undeveloped site with the aid of a $39.8 million construction loan from Pittsburgh-based bank PNC. 

The property is located near an Interstate 5 entrance, offering access to the north-south corridor of western Washington, including Seattle. Construction has just begun and is expected to be completed in phases, with the first building delivering in November 2025 and full completion expected by July 2026.

Legacy at University Place marks the developer’s first move into Washington’s Pierce County, just south of Seattle, and a shift toward cost-effective surface-parked construction, according to the release. Legacy has previously worked on higher-cost podium midrise projects along the Eastlink light rail line in the area, including the 288-unit Copal Apartments in Bellevue, Washington, and the 623-unit Eastline apartments in Redmond, Washington.

“The goal of this project was to create an elevated suburban garden product … located in one of the most sought-after bedroom communities in Pierce County,” said Parker Nicholson, senior managing director for the Pacific Northwest at Legacy Partners, in the release.

The property, designed by Seattle-based Urbal Architecture, will consist of 10 three-story residential buildings and a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse with a modern farmhouse design. All residential buildings are equipped with a split-system air conditioning system. 

Units will range from studios to three-bedrooms, 706 to 1,293 square feet in size, and will include stainless steel appliances, wood-style flooring, large in-unit laundry, a patio or large deck and large kitchen islands in select units. 

In addition to the clubhouse, amenities will include a central park with a half soccer field, a community garden, a pickleball court, a basketball court, a dog run, a childrens’ play area, a fitness center, a pool and multiple gas fire pit areas. 

Legacy Partners has acquired or developed more than 80,000 apartment homes across the country since 1968 and manages a first- and third-party portfolio of more than 50 properties with almost 12,000 apartment homes, at a gross value of over $3 billion, according to the news release.