Business Community

Clearcut outside Canterwood marks start of Timberwalk (née Trailside) construction

The view outside the Canterwood community’s Baker Way gates changed dramatically in recent weeks, with Rush Companies clearing acres of forestland at the corner of Baker and Canterwood Boulevard to make way for the new Timberwalk (formerly Trailside) Apartments.

“Construction is officially underway,” Rush said in June 29 Instagram and Facebook posts, showing company representatives using golden shovels to turn over earth.

The development is slated to have a mix of 120 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units in six three-story buildings on 5.85 acres. Rush did not respond to an inquiry asking about the Timberwalk Apartments’ projected completion date and other aspects of the project.

On social media, Rush touted Timberwalk as a collaboration between sister companies Rush Development, Rush Capital, and Rush Commercial.

Cutting timber for Timberwalk

But since work at the site began, some Canterwood residents are mourning the new and drastically different appearance of the once-forested land that had seemed like the gated community’s front yard.

“The entire area is flat,” Lisa Breske, a Canterwood resident, said in an email. “When they were cutting all the trees down, you could hear the distressed wildlife being displaced. It is a sad site to see each time I drive by.”

Ed LaFreniere, another resident, questioned the accuracy of the project’s new moniker.  Timberwalk is an “odd name given that the property is now almost entirely clearcut! Of trees.”

Rush Companies recently cleared forest at the corner of Canterwood Boulevard and Baker Way to make room for its Timberwalk apartment complex. Photo by Ted Kenney

Doug Smith, who also lives in Canterwood, said that “the in/out of construction traffic hasn’t been much of an impact” on Canterwood residents’ coming and going, because Rush has left its tree-clearing machinery in place rather than removing it every day.

“They just installed a construction fence around the project over the last two days, and we’ll see what occurs when the heavy grading equipment comes in.”

“It’s pretty amazing to hear those huge trees snap!” Smith wrote.

New name, same project

Both names for the development, Trailside and Timberwalk, likely refer to its location just west of power line right-of-way that is intended to become an extension of the Cushman Trail.

The social media posts in June were apparently Rush’s first public use of the development’s new name — and its first public statement about the project outside of required regulatory filings.

A rendering depicts the future Timberwalk complex near Canterwood.

Canterwood residents have criticized Rush’s lack of communication about Trailside/Timberwalk. Public hearings focused on the property’s development. But that was in 2005, when the county hearing examiner approved a preliminary plat and a major amendment to the Canterwood master plan to enable development of acreage that included today’s project site.

Rush has not met with neighbors or posted signs announcing its plans since the company acquired the property in 2024. The permit applications Rush needs for the project do not require such meetings or signage.

Canterwood Boulevard dispute

Timberwalk Apartments’ construction commenced without a final resolution of Rush’s dispute with Pierce County over improvements to the project’s approximately 750 feet of Canterwood Boulevard frontage.

In January, Pierce County officials approved the project, conditioned on Rush adding features to the east side of Canterwood Boulevard. The ruling called for improvements including at least “an 11-foot travel lane, 5-foot bike lane, 1.5-foot vertical curb and gutter, a 5-foot planter strip with street lighting, and a 5.5-foot sidewalk.”

Rush appealed this ruling to the Pierce County Hearing Examiner, arguing that the 2005 plat approval for the property required such improvements only along its much shorter Baker Way frontage. The developer also argued that the requirement is unconstitutional and pointed out it has already paid $454,320 in Traffic Impact Fees for the project.

Construction equipment stored at the site of the Timberwalk Apartments. Photo by Ted Kenney

In April, it appeared that Pierce County and Rush had arrived at a deal that would end the dispute. Rush agreed to create a lesser set of improvements along Canterwood Boulevard, including providing “electrical conduit and junction boxes for future streetlights and associated foundations,” rather than the streetlights and foundations themselves.

The agreement, signed by the parties to the dispute, said that “on-site work on the Trailside project may proceed without delay.”

The hearing examiner postponed a hearing to finalize the settlement and halt Rush’s appeal until June 15. The delay would allow the parties to prepare, review and approve the settlement plan. Since then, the hearing has been postponed three more times. The hearing examiner issued another 45-day extension on Wednesday, July 16.