Reaching New Heights While Airway Heights Welcomes Its Economic Vitality, The City Is Determined To Ensure Development Is Orderly

A community long known for its jet noise, trailer homes and low-rent motels is changing.

Airway Heights has become one of the fastest growing cities in Eastern Washington.

New jobs are moving in. Homes are popping up. The highway is being improved with fresh asphalt, curbs and stoplights.

City Hall is bathing in black budget ink. It’s erecting a new library, putting in sewers and water lines and expanding the police force.

“There’s more growth in the past three years than there’s been in the past 25,” said Airway Heights Mayor Don Harmon, a retired Teamster.

Airway Heights was second only to Union Gap in terms of growth in Eastern Washington last year, according to City Administrator Mike Patterson.

The population has nearly doubled to 4,150 over the past three years.

The increase is due partly to the influx of inmates and staff from the opening of the Airway Heights Correctional Center in 1994.

The state considers the 1,936 inmates there residents, qualifying Airway Heights for annual payouts of sales tax money.

The prison houses 1,536 medium-security prisoners and 400 minimum-security inmates. Beginning on Wednesday, the facility expects to receive 40 additional minimum-security inmates, said spokesman Cly Evans.

The prison’s yearly budget is about $35 million, with 70 percent of that spent on 591 staff salaries.

Airway Heights can expect more jobs and revenue if the Kalispel Tribe succeeds in building a new $17 million casino near the state prison. The plan awaits approval by Gov. Gary Locke.

The tribe also has talked about developing additional land for 500 homes and an educational institute, but it needs to negotiate with the city of Spokane for extra sewage treatment capacity.

Although Airway Heights officials are dealing with the challenges of growth management, the town remains a product of its past. As the name implies, Airway Heights was built from trade with military personnel at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Longtime residents still remember the massage parlors and a reputed brothel that once operated in town. Ladies of the night would signal they were open for business by swinging on a swing set in the front yard.

Some of the town’s retailers through the years have been unique and a little offbeat. At one time, there was a Mexican restaurant that doubled as a doughnut shop.

The sports card store specializes in blues music.

Although Airway Heights officials have put out the welcome mat for development, they’re working to keep growth from taking over by winning concessions from developers in return for approval of projects.

For example, when the prison was built, the state paid for improved roads and traffic lights and also contributed $1.1 million in impact fees for the higher cost of providing fire protection.

Private developers are also being asked to ante up.

“It’s not just going to be a good deal for them,” said Patterson, the city administrator. “They are going to have to give the city a good deal, too.”

The developer of a large housing subdivision is being asked to finance a new 500,000-gallon water tank for the city.

Hayden Watson of Redmond, Ore., is one of the largest housing developers in the Pacific Northwest. His Hayden Meadows project in Airway Heights would add about 300 low-priced homes and 240 apartments to the city in the next several years.

Mayor Harmon and other city leaders said they are excited because the homes are priced to appeal to residents making the modest wages typical of the area.

A 1,000-square-foot home with a single-car garage sells for $71,900. A two-bedroom rancher with 1,100 square feet and a two-car garage goes for $86,900.

Watson is a production builder. The company buys raw land, develops it, markets the homes and then builds them to customer order. Only five basic designs, plus options, are available.

The builder buys materials from a company purchasing operation.

“Our company philosophy is to provide high quality at a low cost,” said Dennis Murphy, vice president for construction.

On the commercial side, Metropolitan Mortgage Co., which owns a 100-acre business park in Airway Heights, agreed to several concessions to develop its property.

Metropolitan is installing traffic signals on U.S. Highway 2, the main road through town.

Also, the city required Metropolitan to install a large sewer trunk through its property, which the city will use to hook up its older residential areas.

Metropolitan has owned the property for many years and sold a big chunk of it to the state for the prison. It still has about 100 acres in its Airway Business Centre, which is attracting new businesses and retailers.

“It’s a good location,” said Bob Luby, Metropolitan’s project manager. “It’s on a major highway. There’s a lot of traffic going through there.”

One of the center’s new businessmen is Kevin Osterberger, owner of a new convenience center at Garfield Road and Highway 2. Osterberger said he was drawn to Airway Heights by the estimated 30,000 vehicles that go by on the highway every day.

His center includes a Burger King, Conoco station and market, a laundromat, Money Tree cash service and a Touch Free carwash. He is leasing space to Burger King and Money Tree.

“Convenience is the name of the game,” Osterberger said.

New developments and increased trade have doubled revenue in Airway Heights to $5.7 million over the past four years, Patterson said.

The police force has increased from four officers to seven.

The City Council is setting aside about $1 million a year for capital improvements.

Residents last year approved a $1.7 million general obligation bond to pay for sewers in already developed sections of the city.

There’s talk about a new motel being planned in the Metropolitan business park along with a full-service restaurant.

City officials believe they’ve gained some 500 new jobs in the past few years.

Among the new arrivals are the Insurance Auto Auction and Western Equipment Auction, which produce strong retail sales and thus a big tax benefit to the city.

A row of light industrial buildings has expanded on the south side of Airway Heights. Employers adding jobs include Garco Building Systems, Welk Bros., Zak Designs and Barrier Industries, Patterson said.

“The nice thing is we’ve still got a very good inventory of land along the rail spur that’s also near the airport,” he said.

Some people believe growth in Airway Heights is just beginning and will increase because of the community’s proximity to Spokane, Fairchild and Spokane International Airport.

“I think its time is coming,” said Luby of Metropolitan.

Said Mayor Harmon: “I’m kind of happy the way things have gone around here.”

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