Large, 4-story apartment building could be coming to downtown Sumner



SUMNER, Wash. – Our booming region continues to grow, and a new, large residential project slated for the town of Sumner has some neighbors worrying their small-town might not feel so small for long.

City officials confirm with Q13 News that council members are in talks with a developer who might be planning to build a 4-story apartment complex just west of city hall.

The lot was once home to a grocery store years ago, but it has been empty and unused for a while.

It’s an entire city block and the city of Sumner is looking to cash-in selling it to a developer.

“It has a great small-town feel but it’s close to so many things,” said homeowner Michelle Allen.

Allen lives directly to the south of the proposed project, which also sits only a few blocks from a transit station.

Some neighbors say that’s why they moved to Sumner, to be close to affordable housing and transit.

City leaders are hoping to get at least $4 million to sell the land.

A city spokesperson told Q13 News a four-story apartment complex is being proposed but the size and scale of the project would likely make it the tallest building in town.

And while some neighbors told Q13 News they support the idea, Allen worries a big project in little Sumner could forever change the small-town feel that lured her family here.

“It would change this area,” she said. “I think the project makes me want to move but then I wonder who would want to buy my house being across the street from something like this.”

Nothing about this project is set in stone, as the city still has to approve the sale to a developer, which could be months away.