Over $1 billion worth of residential and commercial developments are planned in the Mead area, in north Spokane County, as developers expand their focus from residential subdivision projects to a mix of both residential and commercial development, some real estate professionals here say.

Mike Belles, of Spokane-based commercial and residential development company JWMB Properties LLC, says development in the Mead area has exploded in the last five years.

“It’s kind of been overnight where you see these neighborhoods, shopping centers, strip malls, and housing just kind of exploding,” says Belles. “There’s not a lot of directions Spokane can grow and up north is for sure one of them.”

Chris Bell, managing broker of Spokane-based commercial real estate company NAI Black, says the progress on the North Spokane Corridor has been a major influence of recent development activity in the Mead area, specifically around the Costco Wholesale Corp. store, at 12020 N. Newport Highway.

The North Spokane Corridor is driving growth, Bell contends. “That North-South Corridor opens up housing opportunities, employment opportunities, and retail, medical opportunities. That’s critical infrastructure.”

Near the Costco property, MultiCare Health System has purchased 30 acres of vacant land for a future health care development; Liberty Lake-based Greenstone Corp. continues developing 400 acres of land at Mead Works; and North 40 Outfitters is preparing for the construction of a new 130,000-square-foot retail center, as previously reported in the Journal.

Mead Works will add about $600 million in residential development and between $300 million and $400 million of commercial development. MultiCare’s land purchase is valued at$15.7 million, and the North 40 retail center will cost about $22 million to construct.

“The North-South Corridor is going to change shopping habits and driving patterns and shift a lot of commerce up north,” Bell says of the partially completed North Spokane Corridor freeway that eventually will connect to Interstate 90, near the east edge of Spokane.

Bell also credits Mead Works for helping to spur recent development activity around the North Side Costco store, where he says retailer interest is shifting to Newport Highway and away from properties on North Division Street.

“There’s strong demand from retailers that are new to the market,” Bell says.

“(Development) is building off of the excitement that Jim Frank and Joe Frank have created with Mead Works’ 1,400 units they’re going to build,” he adds, referring to the leaders of Greenstone Corp.

Belles, of JWMB Properties, says he’s hoping to capitalize on the increased interest generated from Costco and Mead Works, with two Mead area developments.

JWMB purchased about 15 acres of vacant land for a commercial retail center south of Costco for $8.9 million last July, according to Washington state tax records.

Designs for the site are still in the planning stages, although Belles says he envisions a mix of single-tenant and multitenant commercial buildings for medical, restaurant, or hospitality-related businesses, which he says are missing elements in the community.

“We bought it to build a car wash on it and we had to buy 15 acres to do so,” Belles explains. “I’m from the North Side, so we decided that we should try to do something that benefits Spokane and all the growth coming this way.”

The commercial property has already garnered interest from grocers and other potential tenants, he says.

Ideally, the site will appeal to high-end retailers, such as Nike and REI, to decide to open stores in the community, he says.

JWMB also has started construction of a 72-unit apartment community, tentatively dubbed the Farwell Apartments, at 102 E. Farwell Road, in Spokane, east of Mead High School.

James W. Elmer Construction Co., of Spokane, is the contractor on the $8.4 million apartment project, according to permit information on file with Spokane County.

The Farwell Apartments are expected to be completed by the end of May. Infrastructure work will begin sometime next spring for the commercial property, Belles says.

Residential development in the Mead neighborhood also is pivoting from a majority of single-family properties to multifamily communities, says Cary Snow, owner of Snow Development LLC, of Spokane.

Snow is behind a high-end 500-unit mixed-use project, dubbed the Village at Midway, at 16417 N. Hatch Road, in Colbert.

“Supply is having a hard time keeping up with demand in this particular area,” Snow says. “People are wanting to be close to town but … closer to the mountain, closer to the lakes, and closer to outdoor recreation.”

Steve Goodmansen, of Bernardo Wills, is the architect for the $155 million Village at Midway project, says Snow. He declines to disclose the contractor.

The development will take up to 10 years to completely build and will have a similar neighborhood feel to Greenstone’s Kendall Yards development, located northwest of downtown Spokane, Snow says.

Developers need to think about bringing services to North Spokane now to meet future demand, he adds.

“Get those services in the neighborhood so (residents) don’t have to travel super far,” says Snow.

Bell, of NAI Black, is helping market the commercial site for JWMB in addition to a Harley Douglass-owned 40-acre mixed-use site, and the North 40 commercial center, he says.

“For a long time, the North Side hasn’t had a lot of amenities or any hotel developments. There haven’t really been any mixed-use developments, just basically subdivisions,” Bell says. “People are moving to North Spokane, so there’s no reason why we can’t capitalize on that inflow of growth.”