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Sumner School District Launches First School at Cascadia; Elementary School to Open in Fall 2008

Posted on: Monday, 3 July 2006, 12:00 CDT

Cascadia Development Corp. has reached agreement with the Sumner School District for a 14-acre parcel of land on which the first community school will be built. The new school, now called elementary #9, will be adjacent to two parks and the 5,000-acre community's town center. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Slated to break ground in the spring of 2007, the new school (http://www.sumner.wednet.edu/arounddistrict/pages/Elem9.html) is projected to serve 500 to 550 students and employ approximately 45 teachers and staff. Superintendent of Sumner School District, Dr. Donald Eismann, called the first school site at Cascadia "an important step as we move from vision to reality."

"Being located in an employment-based, planned community such as Cascadia will facilitate business-school cooperative programs and promote educational opportunities with other community ventures," Eismann said. "In September 2008, we will welcome Cascadia's finest students to this new elementary school. We are looking forward to being part of Cascadia."

Patrick Kuo, Cascadia president and chief executive officer, recognized Eismann for working together to achieve consensus and agreement, and sharing the vision for an elementary school emphasizing the arts and foreign languages.

"This is a very exciting milestone that we are collectively achieving," Kuo said. "Cascadia is committed to becoming the model for an ideal, balanced living environment, with homes, good schools, parks, employment, recreation, the arts, cultural activities and more. We look forward to beginning this new journey of having Sumner School District deliver education of the best kind at Cascadia."

Cascadia has designated 183 acres for seven schools, including five elementary schools, a junior high and a high school. All of the schools will be in proximity to residences, allowing students who live at Cascadia to walk via natural trails or landscaped boulevards. Schools, residences and businesses also will benefit from Cascadia's emphasis on the arts, education and quality lifestyle as well as its state-of-the-art integrated network of telecommunications, fiber optics, clean power, wireless and satellite systems, and secure data center.

"Fifteen years ago, when Cascadia was first purchased, Donald Eismann and I shared a commitment to quality education," Kuo said. "Working out the details over the past two years has been a real pleasure."

In addition to Eismann, Kuo credited Deputy Superintendent William Noland and Chuck Lappenbusch, Cascadia's senior vice president of Development, for bringing the purchase and sale agreement to fruition.

The school's advance team, working under the leadership of planning Principal Kent Vallier, is now developing the school's schematic design, which will complement Cascadia's architecture and landscaping.

Today's news follows an April announcement by leading national builders Centex Homes and Shea Homes to purchase 336 Cascadia home sites valued at $50 million. The committed home sites are approximately one-fourth of the 1,719 residential lots in Cascadia's first phase, which also will feature 460 acres of parks and open spaces. Cascadia's first residents and businesses are expected to take occupancy in 2007 to 2008, with the first school opening in fall 2008.

About Cascadia

Cascadia, 12 miles southeast of Tacoma and 18 miles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, is a new 5,000-acre community in Pierce County. It will provide 6,500 home sites, a business and industrial park, a resort-quality hotel and conference center, up to three 18-hole golf courses, a town center with retail stores and restaurants, seven schools and some 1,280 acres of parks and open space. At the foothills of Mount Rainier and with views to Commencement Bay, Cascadia has been inspired by the world's greatest communities and is dedicated to offering a totally balanced living environment. Classified as an employment-based planned community, Cascadia (www.cascadiacorp.com) will be Washington's largest planned community, creating an estimated 10,000 jobs over its 20-year build out. Development financing for Cascadia is provided by Seattle-based Home Street Bank.

About Sumner School District

Quality educators make Sumner School District (www.sumner.wednet.edu/) one of the premier districts in the South Sound region. Sumner schools have a well-earned reputation for providing the highest level of service and a commitment to increasing student achievement, with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Terry Bergeson saying that Sumner School District "delivers a private school education at a public school cost." The District comprises a 38-square-mile area in Eastern Pierce County, which includes the cities of Bonney Lake, Edgewood, Pacific and Sumner, and unincorporated areas of Pierce County. With eight elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools, the District serves more than 8,300 students from nearly 5,000 families throughout the community.

Source: Business Wire

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