Sumner embodies ideals of small-town life

SUMNER — Say you're considering a move to Sumner, that sweet little town nestled near the Pierce County-King County line. You've checked out the enviable schools, scoped out a primo view of towering Mount Rainier and plotted your quick commute from the spiffy downtown Sounder train station.

You're not done yet. Any move — or possibly even any visit — to Sumner also requires the following basic necessity:

One big honkin' box of tissues.

Sumner so completely embodies the nostalgic ideals of small-town America, it's hard to stay long without welling up.

Even its Web site, www.ci.sumner.wa.us, prominently displays a city logo that makes it appear that Sumner ("Incorporated 1891") is endless rows of bright yellow daffodils leading to the foot of Mount Rainier.

Nearly every occasion is cause for a parade down downtown's quaint Main Street, packed with proud parents, neighbors and friends cheering for the local marching band — or even a visiting one.

For Halloween, Main Street closes to traffic so business owners can dress up and pass out candy to throngs of trick-or-treaters. Fireworks and crowds light up the annual holiday bridge-lighting by historic Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse.

Even when there isn't a parade, Sumner's vibrant downtown bustles with car shows, arts and crafts sales, concerts, wine walks, shoppers and a heart-tugging sense of community connection.

You just can't mandate that kind of spirit.

Things happen in Sumner "because our citizens make them happen and have fun with the process," said Paul Rogerson, Sumner's director of community development.

"Even as we grow, we're putting a lot of emphasis on citizens being involved in their community and staying up on what's happening in their government. Then it's our goal to keep that small-town feeling even if there are more of us contributing to it than we had before."

Sumner's population has grown from about 8,500 residents in 2000 (and from 538 in 1900) to an estimated 9,925 this year — which means new developments of condos, single-family homes and apartments are joining street after street of classic bungalows.

Among the 61 residential properties recently for sale were $574,950-$749,950 luxury homes in the new Sumner Viewpoint development; new upscale homes with floor plans starting at $459,950 in Parker Place (some with optional guest quarters); and a handful of much less-expensive resales.

On the less-expensive-and-new front, a Seattle-style condo/retail project called Madison Park is in the works, with condos starting in the high $200,000s, said Toril Schoepfer, of ERA Premier Realty.

The median price of the 96 single-family houses that were sold in Sumner this year, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, was $253,725, and prices ranged from $92,700 to $712,858, according to figures compiled by Windermere Real Estate.

Like most places around here, the Sumner market has seen a change or two of late.

"A year-and-a-half, two years ago, sellers were winning and buyers were paying premiums," Schoepfer said. "Now it's kind of a flip, where buyers are winning and not paying premiums. It's still a great market. If [sellers] price them compelling and have them staged and in condition and good locations, they're still selling in less than 30 days."

Forty residential homes sold within a recent six-month period, Schoepfer said, with an average price of $283,253.

Some buyers aren't moving very far.

Sumner is "kind of a small niche town," Schoepfer said. "A lot of people stay in Sumner; [they] sell houses and upsize or downsize within the town."

There's that community-connection concept again.

But there also are some more-tangible reasons people are drawn to Sumner. Exhibit A: big-city access.

"There are a lot of cute small towns, but not a lot sit on the Sounder commuter rail," Rogerson said. "We have people who can live (here) and walk a few blocks to the train and be in downtown Seattle in 45 minutes — all with their car left in the garage."

Sumner also takes its small-town status seriously, working to hold onto it while balancing it with growth.

"The overarching theme for a number of years has been finding ways to preserve Sumner's small-town character and charm, while also taking advantage of changes in development and living preferences amongst the public," Rogerson said. "In short, we try to attract the best new development — and that turns out to be development that respects our community character."

Sumner isn't perfect, of course. Yes, the city has a smashing view of Mount Rainier, but it also lies smack in the path of a possible eruption. So schoolkids have "lahar drills," scooting themselves to higher ground in less time than it will take the thundering mudflows to reach town.

The city runs a golf course and a skateboard park but has had problems — financial or behavioral — at each. Two empty buildings that housed large grocery stores have lingered for a spell. And a protest group has arisen against Northstar Chemical's application to take over the site of the historic Fleischmann's Yeast Plant.

There was some community angst, too, over the relatively new Fred Meyer retail complex on Main Street, though it seems to be co-existing well with the older downtown shops, Rogerson said.

More retail is coming, too, he said: The old Sumner Tractor site along Highway 410 will house a new auto dealership, and grocery giant WinCo has applied for permits nearby.

The Secret Garden Tea Room relocated from Bellevue to Sumner; Simple Kitchen, Evergreen Flowers and Sumner Sweet Stop recently set up shop downtown; and other downtown businesses are moving from one storefront to another.

That's a lot of change for a little city. But its sweet spirit remains intact — and now, even documented.

"We just did a branding exercise to determine our entire community's 'brand' or reputation and found that the very basic description is that Sumner is an authentic small town that is well-planned with easy access to a vibrant region," Rogerson said.

"Within that, we were hearing a lot of descriptions around 'genuine,' 'authentic,' 'personal,' 'involved' and 'inspiring.' Maybe one of our participants put it best when he came from Seattle and said, 'You can breathe here!' "