A Hayden, Idaho, company has launched a large single-family housing development and is in the planning stages on a mixed-use development, both in North Idaho, that together would have an estimated value of more than $375 million if built out as envisioned.


The company, Hayden LLC, which is owned by investors from Coeur dAlene and Spokane, has begun site work for an 867-lot residential development in northwest Coeur dAlene. Separately, the company is seeking annexation by the city of Post Falls of 280 acres of land where it envisions about 930 living units, a commercial center, an elementary school, and a park. That land is about a quarter mile east of state Route 41 and between Prairie and Poleline avenues.


We think there will continue to be a strong demand nationally and regionally for housing, says Jonathan Mueller, a landscape architect for hatchmueller PC, of Coeur dAlene, and the lead design consultant for both projects. Depending on the market, we project it will take 10 to 15 years to develop and sell the two projects.


Tim Mueller, Jonathans brother, is managing member for Hayden LLC, and says that company broke ground on the 303-acre residential project in Coeur dAlene, called Hawks Nest, this summer. He adds that traffic and waste-water studies currently are under review for the proposed development in Post Falls, which would be called Foxtail.


Hayden LLC, which has owned the land for both projects for at least a year, plans to develop infrastructure for the subdivisions, then sell the lots to builders, says Jonathan Mueller.


Annexed into the city of Coeur dAlene in July, the 303-acre Hawks Nest development lies between Atlas and Huetter roads, and will be bordered on the south by an extension of Hanley Avenue, which currently ends at Atlas, says Chris Bates, engineering project manager for the city of Coeur dAlene.


When that extension is built, he says Hanley will stretch to Coeur dAlenes western boundary at Huetter, and connect there with Poleline.


The northern border of Hawks Nest will be next to the Landings at Waterford subdivision, located south of Prairie Avenue, he says.


Mueller says Hawks Nest could be built in seven or eight phases, with the 115 lots in the first phase ready to be sold to builders as early as next month.


The number of phases depends entirely on what the market will bear, he says, adding that interest rates and house prices will be factors in that schedule.


Hawks Nests lot sizes will range from 6,250 square feet of space to 20,000 square feet, says Mueller. He says the size of the homes will be determined by the builders, but he estimates that homes on the smaller lots will average between 1,500 and 1,800 square feet of living space, with homes on the larger lots probably ranging up to 4,000 square feet of space.


He projects the average home price in that Coeur dAlene development will be about $225,000, giving Hawks Nest an estimated value, once all phases of the development are completed, of more than $195 million.


Foxtail


Hayden LLC has presented a preliminary annexation proposal and conceptual development drawings to the city of Post Falls for the Foxtail project, says Collin Coles, a senior city planner. The development site would be located generally in the northeast part of the city.


Coles says representatives from Hayden LLC and the city have met several times to discuss the project, but the development company hasnt filed a formal annexation application yet. Coles says traffic and waste-water studies prepared by Hayden LLC are being reviewed by the citys engineering department, and that any annexation proposal must be routed through the citys Planning and Zoning Commission before it goes before the City Council.


Mueller says, Were hoping to be before the City Council in January or February, with construction to begin in the spring, and the sale of lots to begin by late summer.


He says the proposed subdivision would be bordered on the west by an unnamed road to be built as part of the project about a quarter-mile east of Route 41. Foxtail would extend from Prairie to Poleline along that road, with part of the development extending east to Meyer Road.


The lots along Meyer would be equidistant between Prairie and Poleline, and take up about half the frontage between those two roads.


Mueller says the Post Falls project differs from the one in Coeur dAlene not only because of the multi-family and nonresidential aspects of the plan, but also because many of the lot sizes and housing units at Foxtail would be smaller than those at Hawks Nest.


Lot sizes in Post Falls would range from about 5,000 square feet for the smaller lots located near the western edge of the project site to about 20,000 square feet on the eastern edge, Mueller says.


This is the first project these investors have undertaken with home prices targeted toward work-force and economy housing, says Mueller, adding that all of the Hayden LLC investors have participated in other Kootenai County development projects under other limited liability companies. This project depends ultimately on the product we deliver to the marketplace in respect to work-force housing. Were looking toward providing homes at optimum costs for first-time buyers.


Emphasizing that builders will determine home prices, he suggests that many of the 660 single-family homes proposed for construction at Foxtail could be built with about 900 square feet to 1,100 square feet of living space, and could be priced as low as $150,000. He says homes on larger lots there might include up to about 3,000 square feet of living space, and be priced at about $300,000.


Mueller estimates the average price of the 660 homes and about 270 multifamily units in Foxtail would be between $180,000 and $200,000. He says the developers havent decided yet whether the multifamily units would be townhouses, duplexes, or apartments, and whether those units would be sold, leased, or a combination of both.


Using Muellers estimates, the value of the Foxtail development, for living units alone, would be between $167 million and $186 million when the project is completed.


That estimated value doesnt include the envisioned school, park, or commercial center, which would be located near the middle of the development. Hayden LLC wouldnt develop those facilities, but rather would sell the land to others.


Mueller says the Post Falls comprehensive plan includes a provision seeking another elementary school for the city. As part of the Foxtail proposal, Hayden LLC has set aside 11 acres for such a school, he says. The plan also includes a five-acre park that would be deeded to the city, he adds.


The commercial center would take up about five acres of the site and would be focused on meeting the needs of neighborhood residents.


It could include a small grocery store, gas station, day-care facility, and specialty shops, Mueller says.


He says both projects will be marketed by Tomlinson Black of North Idaho, of Coeur dAlene.


Contact Rocky Wilson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at rockyw@spokanejournal.com.