Teaming up for housing

A former professional football player and a nonprofit group that builds low-income housing are teaming up to build 72 homes on Spokane County’s West Plains.

When Community Frameworks discovered a piece of land that would be perfect for affordable housing, the nonprofit organization went looking for the owner to see if it was for sale. That’s how it linked up with Steve Emtman, a former University of Washington star and the No. 1 NFL draft pick in 1992.

The Cheney native recently returned to Spokane to focus on his home-building business, Defender Developments LLC, a nod to his years as a defensive lineman, first as a Husky, then with the Indianapolis Colts, the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Redskins. Injuries ended his career in 1997.

The partners struck a deal in which Emtman would sell Community Frameworks the 15 acres, then buy back about half the buildable lots once the nonprofit had guided the development through the permitting process and put in roads, sewer and water lines.

“There’s probably many, many ways he could increase his income with a greater return on his investment,” Chris Venne, Community Frameworks’ development finance manager, said of Emtman. “But he’s chosen to do something to help the community he grew up in.”

After his football career ended, the 35-year-old Emtman said, he returned to UW to complete his marketing degree, since he’d left school a year early to enter the draft. He then worked at the university as a strength coach and also became president of Dream Turf, a company that replaces live lawns with artificial grass. The company has put in 400 lawns in Seattle, saving 10 million gallons of water, Emtman said.

Though he still has a Seattle home, Emtman has returned to Spokane to develop 200 acres he owns in Cheney. The first 94 acres of The Village at Cheney could include everything from a 55-and-older community to single-family homes and apartments. Emtman said he wants to use environmentally friendly building techniques, but he’s been dismayed that they’re not as widely used here as in Seattle.

When Community Frameworks approached Emtman about property he owned but didn’t plan on developing for a while, he said he was quickly interested. He said he named his company Defender Developments not only due to his background, but also in defense of “doing things the right way.”

“There’s a time to say ‘What’s going to make the most money?’ and there’s a time to say, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ ” Emtman said. “They’re a good organization. It’s a great thing they offer. To be part of that however I can is a great thing.”

The project is called Takoda Park, after a Native American word that means “friend to all,” said Marty Hare, Community Frameworks’ construction manager.

Technically half the homes – those built by Community Frameworks – will be “affordable housing,” and the other half – those built by Emtman – will be “market rate.” But there won’t be any difference in the homes’ design or value, the partners said. The homes will come in several different styles and mostly be in the $135,000 to $165,000 range. They’ll have three or more bedrooms, two baths and attached garages and are in the Cheney School District. The development will also offer a community park.

The biggest difference will be that owners of the Community Frameworks homes will donate 65 percent of the labor, supervised by an on-site project manager, Venne said. For example, Venne said, a family may build a home appraised at $130,000, but end up with a mortgage for only $105,000, with their labor worth the remaining $25,000. Several families in a group of eight homes will work together until all the homes are built, Venne said, and no one moves in until everyone’s home in that group is done.

“They’ll work their tails off for 10 months, but they’ll be rewarded with $25,000 in equity,” Venne said. “This program has been very successful all over the country.”

When the Community Frameworks homes are done, Venne said, homeowners will have access to highly subsidized U.S. Department of Agriculture mortgages, with 1 percent interest rates. Community Frameworks is seeking applicants interested in the homesTo qualify, Venne said, they can’t earn more than 80 percent of the area’s median income. For a family of four, that’s $43,700. For a single person, it’s $30,600.

The partners hope to begin construction this summer and expect the entire project to take three years to build out.