Theres a boom in new-home construction on the west side, Spokane-area construction and real estate professionals say, and they arent talking about Seattle.


The West Plains, known mostly for its Air Force base, prisons, and scattered industrial development, is host to several new residential subdivisions that include hundreds of new homes and lots. Lots in neighborhoods that have sprung up in the last few years are now selling quickly, while other such subdivisions are slated to expand this year.


The west side (of the Spokane area) is going to continue to grow and grow and grow, says Tex Hess, a real estate agent with Re/Max of Spokane Inc., who with his wife, Mary, markets lots in several subdivisions throughout the Spokane-Coeur dAlene area.


Theres nothing (in the Spokane area) thats growing at the speed of the West Plains right now, he says.


Corey Condron, vice president of Spokane home builder Condron Construction Inc., says the growing employment base in the Airways Heights area attracted that prolific builder to the West Plains. An affiliated company, C&L Development LLC, is developing a 247-lot subdivision on 60 acres that will have access from both U.S. 2 and Hayford Road eventually. Condron Construction, which will build the houses in that project, plans to start work this spring.


Condron says employees of the Northern Quest Casino, in Airway Heights, already are contacting Condron Construction to ask about the availability of homes in the new development, because they want to move closer to their work. Air Force personnel also have shown some interest.


In addition to targeting people who work nearby, he says, Were basing a lot of our hope on future employment in that area. Theres a lot of land in that tech park (the 224-acre Pacific Northwest Technology Park, at the southeast corner of U.S. 2 and Flint Road). We think thats going to be the site of the next big push in Spokane County.


Condron Construction expects C&Ls 247-lot subdivision to attract entry-level homeowners, with home prices ranging from $120,000 to $190,000.


Re/Maxs Hess says the area also is attracting people who want shorter commutes to downtown Spokane or frequent travelers who want a short drive to Spokane International Airport, which also is on the West Plains. He contends that it typically takes 10 minutes or less to drive from the West Plains to downtown, and that traffic isnt congested, as it can be for commuters coming from new neighborhoods in Spokane Valley or on Spokanes far North Side.


Accessibility is what the key is, he says.


Hess and his wife are representing several subdivisions that have been growing quickly, including Fox Hollow West and Fox Ridge, both of which are located along Graham Road in Medical Lake and are being developed by A&K Development Inc., of Medical Lake.


Fox Hollow West, on the west side of Graham Road, will include 156 homes when fully developed. Hess says lots have been selling at a rate of about four a month there, and currently, 28 homes either are under construction or recently have been completed.


Prices for homes in that development start at about $105,000, which Hess believes to be one of the lowest price points for new homes in the Spokane area. The average cost of a home lot in the West Plains area is $30,000, which is less than in many newer Spokane-area subdivisions and allows developers to cater more toward first-time buyers, Hess says.


At Fox Ridge, just north of and across Graham from Fox Hollow West, about 40 homes have been built. Eventually, the subdivision is expected to include 112 homes.


Homes at Fox Ridge typically range in price from $144,000 to more than $230,000. They havent sold as briskly as at Fox Hollow West, he says.


At Fairways


At the Fairways at West Terrace golf course, along West Melville Road to the south of the Interstate 90-Medical Lake interchange, a big housing development is in the works, says John Durgan, Fairways golf operations director.


Durgan says Spokane home builder Buster Heitman has bought land at the north end of the golf course for an envisioned 100-home subdivision, and the golf course plans to develop a new entrance to its clubhouse because of the new subdivision. Heitman couldnt be reached for comment, and details on the project werent available. Durgan says, however, that infrastructure improvements are under way on that land.


He says that since the golf course opened in 1987, it has been looking for a developer to build more homes around its links.


Finally, after 17 years, we have some aggressive builders developing here, he says.


Just east of the golf course, the West Spokane Terrace subdivision now is filling up quickly, says Hess. Between 60 and 65 homes either have been built there or are under way, and 18 lots are being marketed right now. Lots in that subdivision have been selling at a rate of four a montha similar clip to that at Fox Hollow Westand he expects the subdivision to sell out by the end of summer.


Homes there sell for between $165,000 and $250,000, he says.


Also east of the golf course, Hess says hes marketing lots in a new subdivision that Victory Homes, a company owned by North Idaho developers Tom Johnson and Cliff Mort, is developing called the Meadows, which includes 30 quarter-acre and half-acre lots on which prospective homeowners will be able to build homes with a three-car garage and an additional shop building.


Hess says eight of those lots already have been reserved by buyers, and work on those homes should start this spring.


Well be out of that whole subdivision before summer, he says.