Another major apartment complex in the planning stages for Port Orchard

Peiyu Lin, Kitsap Sun
·2 min read
Proposed Forest Song Site from Google Earth Pro.
Proposed Forest Song Site from Google Earth Pro.

PORT ORCHARD — A project to build 192 apartment units has been proposed for the northwest corner of the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Melcher Street, just west of Port Orchard Boulevard in Port Orchard, according to city documents.

The 9.91-acre Forest Song project was planned by Oakridge Homes, a Gig Harbor-based company that has built homes around the Puget Sound area for nearly 40 years, according to its website. The site plan shows that there are eight residential buildings and a common building in the project, as well as two entrances to the apartment complex from Hill Avenue and Melcher Street, respectively.

Each residential building will contain 24 units. Streams and steep slopes are on the site and the areas have been evaluated in special reports reviewed by the city, according to a Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) notice issued by the city on Feb. 16.

The site plan of the Forest Song project shows that there are eight residential buildings and a common building in the project.
The site plan of the Forest Song project shows that there are eight residential buildings and a common building in the project.

There are two phases in the Forest Song project. The city, after reviewing a completed environmental checklist and other information, has decided that the second and final phase of the project doesn't have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment, as conditioned in the notice, and an environmental impact statement is not required. A preliminary review under SEPA was completed to evaluate the clearing and grading of the site and an MDNS was issued in July 2020, according to the city's Feb. 16 MDNS.

Those who want to submit comments for the proposal can do so before an appeal deadline at 4:30 p.m. on March 1, according to the notice.

Forest Song is one of the many residential housing projects being planned for construction in the city. Within two to five years, the city expects to add a total of 1,927 units, which could accomodate more than 4,500 residents in Port Orchard, Nick Bond, the city's Community Development Director said in a city council meeting on Feb. 13.

In the long term, the city could add 2,209 units that could welcome another 5,800 residents. At least half of those units will come from the McCormick projects probably within the next 10 to 15 years, Bond said at the meeting.

Kitsap Sun coverage of development in Port Orchard:

McCormick Updates: McCormick developers adding business area, parking, another 1,500 houses off Old Clifton

Diaz Meadow Apartment: South Kitsap could add 96-unit apartment complex on Old Clifton Road under proposal

Salmonberry Apartments: Tacoma-based company plans to build two apartment buildings on Salmonberry Road

Pottery Creek Apartments Expansion: Developer adding 192 new apartments to recently opened complex in Port Orchard

Blueberry Apartments: 108-unit apartment complex coming to Bethel and Blueberry Road

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Eight-building apartment complex planned by developer in Port Orchard