Auburn's Lakeland Hills keeps it close

What was once a stomping ground for cougar and deer is now a self-contained community of nearly 3,600 houses, condos and with a view: Mount Rainier, Lake Tapps, the Olympics and surrounding forests.

"It's like our own little bubble," said Chris Glynn, a resident of Auburn's Lakeland Hills neighborhood. "You never have to leave."

In this planned community of roughly 6,000 people, staying inside the bubble has its amenities.

The neighborhood has 30,000 acres of parks, trails and open space, including a playground, baseball fields, skate park and clubhouse.

Lakeland Hills Elementary opened in the fall to serve growing numbers of students, and a neighborhood shopping center has a 24-hour grocery store, restaurants and other stores.

It isn't that residents never leave these rolling hills. It's just that everything they need is within walking distance.

The median household income in Lakeland Hills is well over $80,000, nearly double that of the rest of Auburn, according to a recent study conducted by Hebert Research of Bellevue.

The growing wealth of this neighborhood has some referring to Lakeland Hills as the Beverly Hills of South King County.

"It's not your normal Auburn neighborhood," said Mike Malmos, who works for SuperFloors, a Kent company that installs many of the floors and countertops in Lakeland Hills homes. "This is a middle-class and upper-middle class neighborhood."

Prices start at $170,000 for a condo and go to more than $750,000 for larger homes with a view, the Lakeland Homeowners Association says. The neighborhood attracts residents who yearn for the small-town sense of community with the convenience of the city.

Jackie Tew, 36, moved with her family from Kent to their home in Lakeland Hills in 2004. Her husband commutes to work in Seattle while she takes care of their four children.

The couple picked the house because they liked the neighborhood feel and the proximity to Interstate 5 and state Route 167, Tew said.

"The people out here are different," Tew said. "There are a lot of young families out here, and I'm always running into people I know."

Others, such as Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis were drawn to the area because of its diverse housing options. Lewis and his wife, Kathy, moved to the neighborhood in 1996 and have watched it grow.

From their condo, which he refers to as the "cheap seats," Lewis says he has seen a growing number of seniors, young families and professionals.

"It's planned community with heart," Lewis said.

Now city planners and developers want to tap into the market brewing within these hills.

Lakeland Hills is helping the city attract investment to the city, said Dave Baron, Auburn's economic-development manager.

Most recently are plans to redevelop the site of the Valley Drive-In into a shopping center with big-name stores and office space.

"Retail follows rooftops," Baron said. "Lakeland Hills will be an important ingredient in helping Auburn become more attractive to retailers."

Baron estimates that a tenth of the city's population lives in Lakeland Hills.

Those numbers should continue to grow with the addition of 2,000 houses to be completed by 2009.

Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com