An investor group has begun work on a 350-acre equestrian estates development, called Stonebrook Ranch, thats to be located about 35 miles northwest of Spokane, near Springdale, Wash., and that the group believes is the first of its type in this area.


The property is located along Dillon Road about three miles south of Springdale on the west side of state Route 231 and includes a mix of wooded and agricultural land, says Dennis Alwine, managing member of Stonebrook Ranch LLC, which is developing the multimillion-dollar project. Tentative plans call for it to include 13 parcels of 20 acres and two 40-acre parcels on which, as the developers envision it, buyers would construct upscale homes and the necessary adjoining barns and corrals to care for horses they own.


Alwine is the broker and owner of Windermere Deer Park, which will market the property, and also has developed other rural land north of Spokane into large residential parcels through a company he owns called Alwine Properties Inc. He says Chewelah contractor and store owner Mike Steinbach and retired California developer Ivan Metzger, who now lives in Colville, also are investors in Stonebrook Ranch.


The threesome bought the property near Springdale last March from Ron Knutson, who formerly operated a highly regarded quarter horse ranch there, Alwine says. Currently, they are building additional access roads into the site, and plan to put in underground utilities as well, he says.


Several homes and other structures are located on the property, including a 20,000-square-foot covered riding arena, and the investors are considering giving each purchaser of land in the development partial ownership in the arena. They also are exploring the idea of developing a 3,000-square-foot air strip at the north end of the property, says Alwine.


He says he expects Stonebrook Ranch to appeal to people nearing retirement who want to live on rural, but nicely improved acreages of moderate size where they can keep horses, and also to people who desire parcels of that size for their homes and equestrian-related hobbies and businesses. He adds that he expects the homes constructed in the development to be mostly in the $400,000-to-$600,000 price range.


Parcel prices at Stonebrook start at $125,000 and peak at around $200,000, the latter for a larger parcel with frontage on a creek that runs through property, Alwine says. Those prices would put the total value of the land sales at close to $2 million.


The investor group already sold a couple of months ago the 4,000-square-foot main ranch house located on the property, along with about 40 acres, he says. Also located on the property are two other residences, an 18-stall stable, a hay barn, a shop, a machine shed, and other horse-related amenities.


Contact Kim Crompton at (509) 344-1263 or via e-mail at kimc@spokanejournal.com.