we’re going to stop sprawling outside of
the cities all the way to the crest of the
Cascades and over. But there were a few
exceptions. At that time, there was no
exception for resorts, but resorts play
a very important part in the economy,
particularly in places like Washington that
have such great natural beauty. I could see
that was the future of that property. It was
one of the few places where Plum Creek
had consolidated ownership. Most of their
timberlands were in a checkerboard pattern
because … the Great Northern Railroad
and the Burlington Northern Railroad had
obtained every other section 20 miles deep
as the transcontinental railroads were
brought across America. I worked with the
state government to create the concept of
a master-planned resort. The people there
who did not want change fought it, we had
numerous appeals, but we got the property
designated under the comprehensive
plan in Kittitas County for a resort, and
then the property was sold by Plum Creek
to a company called Trendwest Resorts,
based in Redmond. Trendwest hired me,
and it took me exactly four years from the
day they hired me until we broke ground
on Suncadia. It’s a spectacular piece of
property because the Cle Elum River runs
through it, and there are incredible views.
What I like to tell people is, Suncadia
turned out better than my best dreams. I
am extraordinarily happy, proud, humble,
all of those things, to have been part of
that. It is going to be such a treasure for the
people in our state, for families. That’s what
I love about it—it’s a retreat where you take
your kids, and then your grandkids come,
and hopefully your great-grandkids. I did
Suncadia when Gary [Locke] was governor,
and whenever I see Gary—including last fall
in Washington, D.C.—he always asks me,
“How are you doing in Black Diamond? How
is Suncadia doing?”
Q: Do you ever worry that there’s too much
development in the area?
A: Let me answer it this way: Let’s take
Central Puget Sound as an example. It
is projected in the next 30 years—so by
2040—that Central Puget Sound will have
to accommodate another 1.7 million people
and another 1 million jobs. What’s going to
happen here is the equivalent of lifting the
entire Portland metropolitan area—or most
