The Early Years (1892 – 1964)
Buenna. The area now known as Mar Cheri was once part of the community of Buenna, established in 1892 on the ridge above Stone’s Landing (est. 1871), near the west end of what is now the Redondo boardwalk. Henry Bucey, a local lawyer, had plans to create a city. On-line mapping and real estate sites still use Buenna as the name of this area.
The Mar Cheri pool (not included in his plan) would have been in the lower right (southeast) corner of the map, at the intersection of what is now 2nd Avenue SW and 296th Street.
Buenna had a schoolhouse (not a pool) as the center of community life. It was west of what is now Mar Cheri, on what is now 296th street, between 9th and 10th Avenues SW (what was then called 5th Avenue, between Ash and Oak Streets).
Once the area above Stone’s Landing and Redondo had been logged off (greatly improving views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound), the area that is now Mar Cheri was planted as an apple orchard. Some of these apple trees remain as part of the landscape.
1912: Maltby Road (now Dash Point Road, SR509) is built to allow prospective home buyers to travel from Tacoma to Maltby (near Woodinville). Dash Point Road forms the southern boundary of Mar Cheri.
1952: The first subdivision begins. Soundcrest Homes, near South 312th Street Pacific Highway South (SR 99), becomes the first post-war subdivision in the area, signaling the start of a transition from rural communities, church retreats, and summer lakeside homes into a bedroom community for Seattle and Tacoma.
Mar Cheri Begins (1965-1970)
1965: Mar Cheri is established, and the first five houses are built. By 1969, the neighborhood consists of 30 homes.
May 14, 1969: The Mar Cheri Community Club files its articles of incorporation, ending the builder oversight of the neighborhood and transferring governance to the community. The first board president is Joe Freet.
1969: When Boeing’s contract for the Supersonic Transport (SST) is abruptly terminated, the local economy goes into a tailspin. The builder experiences difficulties in getting remaining lots developed. Building is suspended, and half the property is sold off (becoming Redondo Highlands, to the west of Mar Cheri). Only two additional homes are built over the next five years.
The community insists that the builder follow through on his commitment to providing a community pool and community space, which he does. Four existing homes outside Mar Cheri to the east of the new pool insist that they be allowed to use it, and so an “associate membership” to the community is created to meet that request. Associate memberships, as many as 35 additional households, continue for 45 years until changing HOA rules require they be discontinued.
Mar Cheri Begins Again (1974-1999)
1974: Building resumes, shortly after Weyerhaueser moves its corporate headquarters to Federal Way (1971).
1978: Between 1974 and 1978, an additional 30 homes are built, bringing Mar Cheri to 62 homes.
1980-1999: The last seven homes are added to Mar Cheri, bringing the neighborhood to its current 69 member homes.