Developers here say theyre heading out west in search of new growth opportunities, but theyre not venturing far. In fact, theyve stopped right outside Spokanes doorstep, in the bustling West Plains city of Airway Heights.


Projects that eventually will bring a combined more than 1,180 single-family homes and more than 1,200 multifamily units are planned or under way in and near Airway Heights, which straddles U.S. 2 just west of Spokane International Airport. Meanwhile, retailers such as Wal-Mart and financial institutions such as Numerica Credit Union have been flocking to the 52-year-old city recently.


Developers like to go where theres an invitation, says Ken Kalin, co-owner of Stratford Suites Inn LLC, which built an extended-stay motel in Airway Heights about a year ago. The west side is pretty inviting.


Through November of this year, the city of Airway Heights has issued 231 building permits for residential and commercial projects, valued at a total of more than $11.4 million, says Alfred Pilialoha, the citys community development director. For all of 2006, the city issued 225 building permits with a total value of just under $11.5 million, he says. Home starts through the first 11 months of this year total 118, compared with 110 in all of 2006, 59 in 2005, and 43 in 2004, he says.


The citys Web site lists the residential and commercial projects within and near the city limits that have been announced or completed in recent years. Among the residential projects:


Hayden Enterprises Inc., of Redmond, Ore., is building a 50-home addition to its Sunset Crossing subdivision located north of Sixth Avenue and west of Russell Road, which eventually is to include 150 lots. The developer also has received approval for Sunset Crossing North, which is to include roughly 150 homes eventually.


Just west of Sunset Crossing, Viking Construction Inc., of Hayden, Idaho, plans to start work within a month on a nearly 200-lot subdivision, to be called Traditions.


Korsumo Inc., of Nine Mile Falls, is building a 174-lot subdivision east of Craig Road, called Aspen Grove, as well as a roughly 40-unit duplex project, called Russell Heights, between Russell Street and Garfield Road.


AHO Construction Inc., of Vancouver, Wash., has started building its Hunters Crossing development just north of the city, which it expects will include 372 homes eventually.


Rudeen Development LLC, of Spokane, has begun work on the first phase of a subdivision called Pillar Rock Estates, north of Spokane International, thats expected to include 288 homes.


Cedar Builders Inc., of Spokane, is nearing completion of its roughly 300-unit apartment complex, called Cedar Summit Estates, located north of Crosspointe Plaza. East of that project, Spokanes Condron Construction Inc. is building its 270-lot Sekani at Crosspointe neighborhood.


Among the commercial projects:


The Kalispel Tribe of Indians broke ground this summer on a $275 million expansion of its Northern Quest Casino. The project is to include a 350-room hotel, 2,300-seat special events venue, a casino, and retail space, and is expected to be completed in early 2010.


The Spokane Tribe of Indians has said it wants to build an estimated $130 million casino, hotel, and retail complex on 145 acres of land it owns just west of Airway Heights.


The U.S. Army is building a nearly $30 million Army Reserve center at the edge of Fairchild Air Force Base, west of Airway Heights.


A Los Angeles-based development group, Shebourne 26 LLC, has said it plans to develop for commercial use more than 100 acres of land next to Airway Heights, south of U.S. 2.


Ambassadors Group Inc. recently moved into its new 132,000-square-foot headquarters building near SIA, bringing roughly 340 jobs from the companys former office in Spokane.


Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently opened a Wal-Mart supercenter in the Crosspointe Plaza Shopping Center, at the northeast corner of Hayford Road and U.S. 2.


To the west of Crosspointe Plaza, across Hayford Road, Numerica Credit Union is building a branch that it expects to open next month.


At the southwest corner of Hayford and U.S. 2, Washington Trust bank has started building a new branch that it expects to complete within the first quarter of next year. The bank also sold part of its land there to Walgreen Co. earlier this year.


Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. is building a new outlet at 11003 W. Sunset Highway that it expects to complete by March.


Panda Express Inc. expects to build a fast-food restaurant near the northeast corner of U.S. 2 and Garfield. The Chinese food chain plans to open the outlet in early summer.


Developers say theyve long been attracted to the relatively low price of land in the largely-undeveloped Airway Heights area, but up until a few years ago, the lack of infrastructure in place posed a major deterrent. Since then, the city of Airway Heights has been working on installing water and sewer hookups, and some developers have taken on infrastructure improvements, such as road projects, themselves.


Scott Krajack, land development director for Viking Construction, says that the West Plains is the next natural step for developers, since traffic congestion makes projects north of Spokane less popular with home buyers, Liberty Lake is becoming more expensive, and South Hill residents often mount opposition to new developments. Additionally, much of the housing stock in the Airway Heights area is fairly old, so theres hefty demand for new units, especially since new homes there generally are less expensive than in other parts of Spokane County, he says.


Everything seems to be pointing in the right direction for Airway Heights, Krajack says. Theyre not fighting the growth, and builders and developers want to go where theres no battle.


Stratford Suites Inns Kalin says he and his business partner chose to build the 60-unit motel in Airway Heights because of the areas growth potential and affordable land prices. Stratford Suites has enough land to build a roughly $12 million, 120-unit addition to its facility later, and conditions are starting to look favorable for launching that project, he says.


Dennis Cutter, president and CEO of Numerica, says the credit union decided to expand into Airway Heights mostly to position itself for the future. Numerica looked at various factors, including Fairchilds upcoming housing consolidation that will leave hundreds of military personnel looking for off-base housing, before deciding to build a branch there, he says. The growth of the retail sector also played a role in its decision.


The retail businesses that are starting to spring up are an early indicator of what Airway Heights will look like in four to five years, Cutter says. We dont normally just look at a nice corner and put a branch up; were hoping that given the research weve done it will become a convenient location for members and for attracting new members.


Infrastructure need


Kalin says a continual need for infrastructure improvements is the only thing holding Airway Heights back in terms of additional development activity.


Pilialoha points to the citys planned $28 million waste-water treatment plant as an example of one such need that the city is addressing. The Washington state Department of Transportation also is in the process of creating a 20-year plan for U.S. 2, which will look at ways to improve the citys main artery and alleviate congestion as Airway Heights grows, he says.


Meanwhile, the city set up a U.S. 2 revitalization committee to develop a landscaping plan for the stretch of the highway that runs between Lawson and Lundstrom streets, Pilialoha says. The city put the project out to bid in late summer, but the bids came back over budget, so the city will rebid the work this spring, he says.


Although developers and others are optimistic about Airway Heights future, some say that the area wont reach its full potential if county commissioners fail to either lift a building moratorium they imposed last spring or revamp zoning laws to allow more residential construction on the West Plains.


Theyre going to kill the economy in Airway Heights, asserts Spokane developer Dick Vandervert, who is leading the development of several large projects on the West Plains, including Crosspointe Plaza and the Deer Creek Apartments. Retailers wont go where theres no rooftops.


In March of 2006, county officials approved opening up some light-industrial zoned land on the West Plains to a range of commercial and residential uses. After SIA and Fairchild officials expressed concerns about the ensuing developments encroaching on their crash zones, county commissioners declared a temporary moratorium on residential development on light-industrial land there. The commissioners replaced and expanded that ban in March and adopted an interim regulation that prohibits such developments over a larger area.


When they opened up the land, growth took off, Vandervert asserts. Now theyre slamming the door on it.


The commissioners were scheduled to hold a public meeting on Dec. 18 regarding residential development in the countys light-industrial zones, particularly on the West Plains.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyp@spokanejournal.com.