Quarterra Plans Apartments Amid Rent Growth in Snohomish

Quarterra is plotting another multifamily project in the Puget Sound region as demand for apartments is soaring.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based developer filed applications to build a 294-unit apartment complex as well as three commercial buildings at 2502 Bickford Avenue in Snohomish, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported. The project, dubbed Emblem Snohomish, would also include a row of five townhomes.

The project would replace five existing single-family homes and a shop. The development will include 15,000 square feet of commercial space across the three buildings, including a 2,500-square-foot coffee and doughnut shop with a drive-thru.

A creek that runs through the site will separate the apartment portion of the development from the townhome segment.

The site spans 17.4 acres across six parcels. The properties have a combined assessed value of more than $4 million, per Snohomish County records cited by the Business Journal. Quarterra has not acquired the properties, and their ownership wasn’t reported.

The move comes a few months after private equity firm TPG acquired a majority stake in Quarterra from homebuilder Lennar. TPG committed to a $1 billion investment in the multifamily sector and kept the door open to raising more capital for future growth.

Quarterra has at least 11 other multifamily properties in the region.

The firm is developing a $400 million residential complex comprising 796 units near the University Village shopping center in Seattle. That is one of the biggest multifamily projects in the region in recent years and is expected to be completed by late 2028.

Quarterra owns the 2016-built Whittaker Apartments in west Seattle, anchored by a Whole Foods Market. In Redmond, Quarterra opened the 284-unit luxury rental community known as The Piper in 2024. A year ago, it began leasing for its 194-unit Tavin apartment property in Crown Hill.

Snohomish County’s fundamentals point to a promising environment for multifamily developers. In the first quarter, Snohomish County had the lowest multifamily vacancy rate of any submarket in the Puget Sound region at 6.1 percent, per Kidder Mathews data cited by the Business Journal. At the same time, average rent ticked up 2 percent year over year to $1,532.

— Chris Malone Méndez