Lacey grants property tax reduction for city’s first registered historic home 

The oldest home in Lacey's historic neighborhood, and the first property added to the city's register in 1991, now qualifies for a 10-year tax reduction after owners completed a rehabilitation project exceeding $130,000. 

The Lacey City Council unanimously agreed to grant a special tax valuation for the Bowker House, an 1890s structure at 915 Bowker St. SE that sat abandoned for 25 years before current owners Christa Harvey and Destiny Furbush purchased it in 2019.  The council made the decision at a meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The approval allows Harvey and Furbush to subtract $15,886.02 in verified rehabilitation costs from the assessed building value for the next decade under Chapter 84.26 RCW (Revised Code of Washington). 

The $15,886.02 represents only expenses documented within a 24-month eligibility window, though total rehabilitation costs exceeded $130,000, according to Erin Quinn Valcho, Museum Curator for Lacey Parks, Culture & Recreation. 

George and Lucinda Hayes Bowker built the Vernacular-style home after traveling around Cape Horn from Maine, purchasing the first lot in Adams Acres for $200 and settling there following their 1883 marriage. 

State law requires rehabilitation costs to equal at least 25% of the assessed building value, excluding land, within a 24-month window before an application is filed. Owners who meet the threshold can subtract the full verified amount from the building assessment for 10 years. 

The Thurston County Assessor's Office received the Bowker House application on May 20, 2025, fixing the eligibility period from May 20, 2023, through May 19, 2025. 

The 2022 tax year assessment put the building value at $57,100, making the minimum qualifying expenditure $14,275. City staff and the Lacey Historical Commission verified $15,886.02 in eligible capital expenses that met federal qualified rehabilitation expenditure standards. 

Only capital expenses within the building envelope or contributing to structural integrity are qualified. City staff excluded landscaping, patio work and electrical lines to a pond from the eligible total. 

Neighborhood memories 

Mayor Andy Ryder disclosed he grew up one house down on Lacey Street and that his grandmother lived near the Bowker House on Bowker Street. 

"I remember old Mrs. Bowker," said Ryder, noting her German shepherd prevented neighbors from approaching. "It was always the old, like, scary house with the big dog.” 

Harvey, a real estate agent, bought the property on Dec. 24, 2019, from the estate of Daniel Stuckey. Ryder said he visited the property after Stuckey purchased it from the Bowker family in 1995 and found it in severe disrepair. 

"Barely anything was functioning," Ryder said. "That kitchen was barely hanging on. On one hand it was really cool. … On the other hand, it was really sad." 

Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller said the transformation work appeared to cost a lot of money.

 "That is a whole lot more than $15,886.02 worth of work that I saw on that screen," Miller said. "It looked a whole lot more like a six-figure job to me." 

Pandemic delayed construction 

Harvey stated in application documents that the home lacked electricity, plumbing, lighting, a definable kitchen space, and had missing exterior walls, windows and doors when she purchased it. 

"It was not heated or insulated, and had squirrels and bats living inside," Harvey wrote. "You could see through the interior floor to the ground." 

COVID-19 shutdowns also halted construction.

"No one would take the job for the small budget I had left,” Harvey wrote. "My children and I were displaced for three years with our belongings in storage as we stayed with family due to my home being unlivable." 

Work included custom-milled exterior siding to match 1890s specifications, new electrical throughout the home with underground service relocation, all-new plumbing, custom Pella wood windows, hardwood bamboo flooring and conversion of a former garage into a primary bedroom. 

The Lacey Historical Commission granted a certificate of appropriateness on Dec. 18, 2019, before work began. The commission reviewed the special valuation application on Oct. 15, 2025, and Nov. 19, 2025, before recommending approval. 

Approval obligates Harvey and Furbush to enter a special valuation agreement with the city running through Dec. 31, 2036. 

The agreement bars alterations without Historical Commission consent and requires compliance with Washington State Advisory Council maintenance standards. 

The property must be made accessible to the public, one day annually. Properties on the local register must obtain Historical Commission approval before undertaking any work requiring a permit. 

City staff must notify the Thurston County Assessor, County Auditor, Washington State Advisory Council and applicant by Dec. 31 or within 10 days of the decision. 

The property's total assessed value rose from $135,400 in 2021 to $414,100 in 2025, with the building portion increasing from $37,300 to $264,500 over that period, according to county assessor records.