47° North Bullfrog Flats — Now Pine Ranch — Cle Elum, WA

This 1,100-acre development between Roslyn and Cle Elum, WA has operated under several names since its original 2002 city approval: Bullfrog Flats, 47° North, and now Pine Ranch by Rise Well Homes. This page is roselum.com’s independent community record of the development — covering its history, ownership changes, road impacts, and SR-903 evacuation concerns.

If you feel any information on this page is incorrect or out of date, please let us know — corrections are made promptly.

What is Pine Ranch (Bullfrog Flats)?

Pine Ranch is the current marketing name for the Bullfrog Flats master-planned community in Cle Elum, WA — a development originally approved in 2002 under the name Bullfrog Flats and later promoted as 47° North. The approximately 1,100-acre site sits west of the Cle Elum Cemetery, between I-90 exits 80 and 84, bordering Suncadia and Tumble Creek. The City of Cle Elum approved 1,384 housing units, a 75-acre business park, and 50 affordable housing units on 7.5 acres.

Who is Developing Pine Ranch?

The current developer is Rise Well Homes. The property was previously owned by Sun Communities, which sold the 1,100-acre parcel to Blue Fern Development. Rise Well Homes subsequently acquired it and rebranded the project as Pine Ranch. Three preliminary plats are now filed within the Bullfrog Flats project area. Lead city contact: Virgil Amick, City of Cle Elum ([email protected], 509-674-2262).

Location

Planned in the area of I-90 exit 80 (Roslyn / Suncadia / Tumble Creek) and I-90 exit 84 in the Cle Elum–Roslyn area, extending up to the schools and transfer station area on SR-903.

47 north roslyn cle elum development bull frog flats

2026 Updates

Fire Access Road (March 2026): The City of Cle Elum completed environmental review and adopted a Notice of Addendum on March 10, 2026 for the Pine Ranch secondary fire access road. The road resurfaces a portion of the existing BPA powerline maintenance road with crushed rock, providing required secondary fire access to three preliminary plats within the Bullfrog Flats project. The access road runs west of SR-903 and the Cle Elum Water Treatment Plant, connecting to Bullfrog Road. For fire department coverage of the area, see fire departments serving Upper Kittitas County.

Road Construction & Roundabouts: A total of three roundabouts are planned between SR-903 and I-90. This is the primary traffic concern: on busy weekends and holidays the stretch between the Interstate and SR-903 already backs up — three roundabouts in series will make that significantly worse. More critically, roundabouts slow throughput in a mass evacuation. Everyone along SR-903 from Roslyn north — Roslyn, Ronald, Lake Cle Elum, Salmon la Sac — must pass through this corridor to reach I-90. Having three choke points between SR-903 and the Interstate will materially slow any emergency evacuation.

Data Center Concerns (July 2026)

On July 31, 2026, the Cle Elum City Council passed an emergency six-month moratorium on data center applications, at a special meeting prompted by roughly 50 resident emails. The ordinance states plainly: “information presented to the city council indicates that property within the city may be under consideration for one or more such facilities” — concern centered on this development’s 950,000-square-foot business park component. Mayor Matthew Lundh confirmed the city had not received any formal data center application; the moratorium was precautionary.

The underlying zoning creates real ambiguity. Cle Elum Municipal Code 17.34.010 (Business Park District) doesn’t name “data center” as a permitted use, but it includes a broad category — “research, financial, or information processing offices” — that could plausibly be read to cover one without requiring a new zoning review. That gap is likely why the council felt emergency action was necessary rather than relying on existing code.

Councilmember Ken Ratliff’s stated concern centered on water and electrical demand: “There’s a lot more unknown about these than there is known.” An advisory committee was formed with representatives from residential/commercial water customers, city departments, South Cle Elum, and the Yakama Nation.

Worth noting: Cle Elum-Roslyn Elementary School sits at 4244 Bullfrog Road — the same road this development is built on, within the same general master-plan area (35 acres were dedicated to the school district from this site back in 2003). A large-scale industrial/computing facility this close to an elementary school would be a significant departure from what residents were told to expect from this project.

This isn’t just a Cle Elum concern. Pine Ranch/Bullfrog Flats sits geographically as close to Roslyn as it does Cle Elum, and its traffic, water, and infrastructure impacts flow directly up SR-903 toward Roslyn, Ronald, and Lake Cle Elum — the same corridor already discussed above as the only evacuation route for those communities.

Roslyn has a comparable situation of its own: the former No. 4 Mine site, a 30-acre parcel now owned by Forterra, sits undeveloped with no confirmed future use decided yet. See our coverage of that property for comparison: Forterra 30 Acres in Roslyn, WA.

Stop 47 Degrees North – Roslyn/Cle Elum
https://www.stop47degreesnorth.com/

Restoring the 2002 Approved BullFrog Flats Master Site Plan

2024 Proposed Master Plan

It’s ALIVE: https://bullfrog-flats.com/master-site-plan/

One Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Four (1,334) single family and multifamily housing units planned – https://cleelum.gov/city-services/planning/bullfrog-flats-development/

More details with new ownership information: Sun Communities Sells 1,100-Acre Bullfrog Flats MPC in Cle Elum to Blue Fern Development, Sale to Bring New Housing, Jobs and Economic Development – Land Advisors Organization

Note housing/dwelling units changes. Originally it was 1,334 but according to link above its now 1,384

Bullfrog Road Construction

The Pine Ranch Development, formerly 47 degrees North, formerly Bullfrog Flats Development has started on road construction that will impact ingress & egress on Bullfrog Road.

Make sure to plan accordingly for this road construction.

More details: Kittitas County Press Releases

Here is a crude overlay of the Pine Ranch development in between Roslyn & Cle Elum

Bullfrog flats pine ranch 47 degrees north development in roslyn cle elum

SR-903 Evacuation Concerns

With three roundabouts planned on Bullfrog Road and 1,384 new housing units added to the area, SR-903 will face significant additional load. SR-903 is already the only route out for Roslyn, Ronald, and Lake Cle Elum residents in an emergency evacuation. Related reading:

Images and maps are not exact and are meant for rough guidance and reference only.