Ovation at Oak Tree

Ovation at Oak Tree is a 55+ active-lifestyle community tucked into 40 acres of preserved Pacific Northwest oak woodlands in Lacey, Washington — roughly 20 minutes east of downtown Olympia and about an hour south of Seattle. Originally launched by William Lyon Homes in 2017 and now built by Taylor Morrison, the community is master-planned for approximately 800 single-story homes and is still under active construction, so new-build inventory is available alongside a steady supply of lightly used resales. Homes come in roughly twelve floor plans (Alder, Aspen, Hemlock, Oak, Walnut, and others) ranging from about 1,432 to 2,295 square feet, with one to three bedrooms, one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half baths, and 1.5- to 3-car garages. Standard features include gas hookups for outdoor grills, Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats and garage door openers, low-maintenance fiber cement siding, quartz counters, and 8-foot interior doors. Many homes back to greenbelt or woodland, and the street grid is designed around the existing oak canopy — you actually drive into the community under a tunnel of trees. The social heart of Ovation is its two private clubhouses. The Pavilion, the first to open, is about 4,500 square feet and houses a gathering room, catering/demonstration kitchen, fitness center with aerobics and dance studio, locker rooms, a spa, and an outdoor patio with kitchen and community fire ring. The second clubhouse, The Villages Club, adds a large grand ballroom and gathering room with entertainment kitchen — the Pavilion won the NAHB 2019 Best 55+ Clubhouse award when the amenity package debuted. Outside the clubhouses, residents have an indoor pool, pickleball courts, bocce courts, a dog park, a Family Picnic Park with gazebo, BBQ station, and recreation lawn, plus miles of walking and biking trails that weave through the oak preserve with birdwatching and wildlife observation stations. A full-time activities director organizes the social calendar, and residents have formed groups around biking, bocce, birdwatching, swimming, walking, yoga, holiday parties, and pickleball. The HOA (around $275/month) covers front-yard maintenance, common-area upkeep, and professional management, so the lifestyle is genuinely low-maintenance. Location is one of the community's strongest selling points for Pacific Northwest retirees. A Safeway is about seven minutes away, Capital Mall with 90+ stores and restaurants is about 22 minutes, Providence St. Peter Hospital is roughly 18 minutes, and I-5 is only about 10 minutes away, which puts Tacoma, JBLM, and the southern Seattle metro within easy reach. Olympia Regional Airport is about 20 minutes out, and Sea-Tac is typically 60–75 minutes north depending on traffic. The setting — mature oak woodland, Cascade foothills to the east, Puget Sound to the northwest — gives the community a quiet, forested feel that's unusual for a large master-planned 55+ development.