Roughly 100 acres of mostly vacant land in the Latah Valley neighborhood could be the site of a new housing subdivision, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.
Located adjacent to U.S. Highway 195, the site stretches from Spokane Fire Station 5 on West Eagle Ridge Boulevard to an area just west of where South Hatch Road intersects with the highway.
Referred to as Eagle Bluffs in plan documents, the project would include 375 single-family homes and 22 multi-family buildings that will include a total of 132 housing units, according to building documents.
Those plans were submitted as part of a predevelopment process where project documents are submitted to the city of Spokane to garner feedback from building officials about what is needed before the project can begin.
The area is owned by Harley Douglass, son of the late Spokane real estate mogul Harlan Douglass, who died in November.
According to property records, the project will span 11 properties owned by Harley Douglass.
The properties were acquired separately, including roughly 20 acres purchased in 2004 for roughly $665,000; another 4 acres with a single family home purchased in 2017 for $250,000; 20 acres purchased in 2004 for $480,000; 30 acres purchased in 2006 for roughly $335,000; and another 30 acres that were earlier acquired by the Douglass family.
The entirety of the site falls within an area that was put under a housing moratorium in May of last year.
The moratorium was put in place by the state Department of Transportation over concerns that the area’s infrastructure was inadequate to support more commuters.
The dispute over growth and the existing roads dates back to at least 1981, when the city annexed land in the area. In the early 1990s, Washington State Department of Transportation allowed the city to extend sewer infrastructure in the department’s right-of-way to boost possible development.
But a 1999 study that proposed to take pressure off Highway 195 by adding interchanges at Hatch, Meadowland, Thorpe and Cheney-Spokane roads, along with two frontage roads, has resulted only in the Cheney-Spokane interchange. The rest have remained only as plans.
As an apparent reflection of those ongoing concerns, plans for the Douglass subdivision show he would develop 13 roads to service the hundreds of homes. No new connections to Highway 195 will be added. The subdivision will be accessible only by South Meadow Lane Road to the north and South Moran View Street to the south.
Efforts to reach Douglass and Jay Bennett, the principal of Spokane-based J.R. Bonnett Engineering who designed the project, were not successful earlier this month.
Gonzaga offers homes
To make way for future development, Gonzaga University will sell two homes at no cost, given the buyer will instead pay to get structures transported to another property.
Across North Cincinnati Street from the Zag Shop, the university is planning to demolish the homes at 729 E. Desmet Ave. and 1111 N. Cincinnati St., according to a listing posted by SVN Cornerstone, a realty firm based in Spokane.
The two homes are scheduled for demolition next month, according to the listing.
The two homes are likely subject to a city of Spokane ordinance that outlines protections to old homes. Signed in November of last year, the Mary’s Place Preservation Ordinance was aptly named after the historic home that was flattened last year to make way for a parking lot.
According to the City’s website, the ordinance ensures that buildings 50 years or older or listed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places, must be preserved as much as possible by reusing their salvageable materials.
Restaurant and bar planned downtown
What was previously home to Pinot’s Palette, a wine bar and painting studio, will be the site of a new upscale restaurant and bar, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.
The roughly 1,800-square-foot space will house a bar with seating for eight people, 10 couches totaling 20 seats, and five high-top tables totaling 20 seats, according to plans.
Design elements include modern fixtures, furnitures and a small stage at the site located at 319 W. Sprague Ave.
Located between Spokane Comedy Club and Gamers Arcade Bar, the building is owned by SDS Realty, according to Spokane County property records.
Carlos Herrera, general manager for the Spokane-based firm, said Adam Norwest, owner of Spokane Comedy Club, was heading up the project. Norwest could not be reached last week.
