A handful of developers have revived projects in the Latah Creek area in Southwest Spokane, where, they say, lies the largest amount of available, undeveloped residential land within the city of Spokane.


Four developers are hoping to bring a total of 145 residential lots onto the market in the Qualchan Hills area now that a big water tank has been installed, resolving a water-source problem that stalled development there for several years. Potential storm-water drainage problems still need to be addressed, says Randy LaBeff, a design engineer with Adams & Clark Inc., of Spokane, which is working on the projects on behalf of the developers. LaBeff says the engineering company has proposed a solution for drainage concerns, and some of the lots now proposed for development could be approved and on the market this summer.


As those proposed additions move through the city approval process, a proposal for new commercial development along U.S. 195 not far away is scheduled to go before the Spokane City Council next week.


Meanwhile, lot sales have picked up at Eagle Ridge, an established subdivision in the Latah Creek area, after falling short of projections during the first four years in which Genstar Land Co. marketed the subdivision.


In the Qualchan Hills area, which is situated along a hillside on the west side of U.S. 195, developers are seeking final plat approval for the four proposed additions:


CPM Development Corp., a Spokane company that also operates Inland Asphalt Co. and Central Pre-Mix Products Co., hopes to develop Qualchan Hills Fifth Addition, a 31-lot, 15-acre proposed project along Bolan Avenue, southeast of Persimmon Woods at Qualchan, a fully developed area.


Dave Black, CEO of Tomlinson Black Commercial Inc., is proposing to develop 24 duplex units and one single-family home on 25 lots at Qualchan Lane Planned Unit Development, which is along Bolan on the northwest side of Persimmon Woods.


POS Development Inc., a company headed by Gene Brazington, of Spokane, is proposing to develop Qualchan Hills Second Addition, which would include 11 residential lots across Bolan from Blacks proposed development.


HRH Holdings, a company owned by Harry Huber, of Calgary, Alberta, is proposing to develop Qualchan Hills Fourth Addition, which would include six lots along Lincoln Boulevard. That street is west ofand up the hill fromthe other proposed new developments.


Additionally, CPM Development and POS Development together have sought preliminary plat approval for 72 single-family residential lots between Lincoln and Bolan. Of those, POS Development would own 58, and CPM would own 14. POS also owns a proposed multifamily lot along Lincoln for which its seeking preliminary plat approval.


The activity is being proposed in the Qualchan Hills area after the recently completed construction of roads and sewer and water facilities in a local improvement district there. That $1.3 million project included construction of sewer and water lines, a 300,000-gallon water tank, and a pump station.


Brazington says disputes over water and sewer issues between the city of Spokane and Qualchan Properties Inc., a company here that first started developing Qualchan Hills in the mid-1990s, stalled development there. About 100 homes were built there, but Qualchan Properties went bankrupt in 1997. A lawsuit is pending between the former principals of Qualchan Properties and the city, Brazington says.


Once storm-water drainage concerns are resolved, Brazington says he expects residential lots there to sell at a brisk pace.


Ive gotten a lot of interest in this, because, well, look at it, he says. Its a beautiful view.


Retail center proposal


Less than a mile south of Qualchan Hills, George and Margaret Chica, of Spokane, have proposed developing a neighborhood shopping center. They currently are seeking an amendment to the citys land-use map that would allow them to build the center on five acres at the southwest corner of Meadow Lane Road and U.S. 195. The Spokane City Council is scheduled to discuss a resolution concerning the amendment at its May 22 meeting. The citys Plan Commission has recommended approving the change.


The Chicas, who couldnt be reached for comment, havent submitted specific plans for their proposed retail center. They likely wouldnt do so until they sought a zone change, which could occur only if the land-use map amendment were approved, says Steve Haynes, a city planner. The citys generalized land-use plan says a neighborhood shopping district typically includes about 50,000 square feet of retail space, but can be up to double that size.


Even at the maximum square footage allowed for a neighborhood shopping center, the Chicas development would be significantly smaller than a 166,000-square-foot retail center they proposed at the same site five years ago. The city rejected that project, opting instead to approve another retail center, Latah Creek Plaza, to serve the area. At that time, the citys position was that the area didnt need two retail centers.


At Latah Creek Plaza, which is located just southwest of the Cheney-Spokane Road-U.S. 195 junction, retail development has occurred somewhat slower than first expected, says Black, managing member of Latah Creek Plaza LLC. Black says when the company first started developing Latah Creek Plaza four years ago, it expected to complete the 150,000-square-foot center within five years. The company has built about 60,000 square feet of space so far, and Black now says, Ill be very happy to be built out in three years. It could be five to 10 years.


He says, however, the retailers that have opened there have reported higher-than-expected sales. Also, traffic counts along U.S. 195 continue to grow, which has caught the eye of some potential tenants, he says.


To address the increased traffic, the Washington state Department of Transportation has said it hopes to construct frontage roads there within five to 10 years.


At Eagle Ridge


Like Latah Creek Plaza, the Eagle Ridge residential subdivision also has developed slower than expected, but lot sales there have increased rapidly in the first part of this year, says Kim Whitman, development manager for Eagle Ridge.


Genstar, a San Diego-based development company that owns Eagle Ridge and other large residential developments elsewhere in the U.S., has sold 15 lots so far this year, and it expects to sell another 35 by year-end, Whitman says. Last year, the company sold just 25 lots at Eagle Ridge.


Whitman says all of the parcels sold this year have been bought by people who plan to build and live in homes there, rather than by builders who plan to construct homes speculatively. Homes in that neighborhood are listed for between $125,000 and $350,000.


We kind of feel like weve been discovered, Whitman says.


Genstar initially estimated that the big neighborhood, which eventually is expected to include about 2,500 home lots on 530 acres, would be developed in about 20 years. After five years, however, the company has developed about 270 residential lots on 90 acres and has sold roughly half of those lots.


Although lot sales have picked up recently, Genstar doesnt plan to develop additional land until more of its current inventory of lots is bought.


Whitman says its taken longer than first expected for home buyers here to become familiar with Eagle Ridge and the southwest Spokane area. Also, Genstar might have based its original timeline on its success with developments in larger cities, such as San Diego and Tampa, Fla.


They have developments that sell 1,000 lots a year, but thats not Spokane, Whitman says. There is now an understanding (at Genstars corporate offices) that Spokane is a smaller market.