Run on the river

In 28 years of Bloomsday, runners and walkers have watched the course, and the city of Spokane, change.

They traveled past luxury condominiums rising along stately Riverside Avenue. They adjusted to a new finish line following the remodeling of River Park Square. And in today’s 29th race, they’ll notice the new footbridge crossing the river at High Bridge Park.

Now, one of the most dramatic changes is coming to a dusty swath of land where a gravel pit operated for years. The 153 acres stretching southeast from Fort George Wright Drive and Government Way is being transformed into a community of 175 homes, just three miles from downtown Spokane. Construction began this year on the long-planned River Run subdivision, with more than 20 homes under construction and the first families already moved in.

Though the homes are barely visible from the street, passersby may remember the signs along Government Way two years ago that read “River Run … Coming in 2003.” Though the plans took a little longer than expected to come together, the timing couldn’t be better. Spokane’s hot real estate market and buyers’ insatiable demand for waterfront lots have driven prices up from estimates projected two years ago.

Homes on 7,500-square-foot lots (about 1/6th of an acre) start at $230,000. Homes on quarter-acre riverfront lots are selling for between $400,000 and $800,000. Homes to be built next year on a dramatic bluff overlooking the river are expected to be sold at prices of up to $1 million, said Realtor Jack Couch. In March, new homes sold in Spokane County at an average price of about $225,000.

“We’ve got a list of names a mile long,” Couch said of the people interested in riverfront lots. “We’re selling a house about every two to three days. It’s just been crazy. If I had 500 river lots down here, I could sell them.”

And despite the fact that most of the lots are not on the river, Couch said he’s never sold homes as fast as they’re moving at River Run. Of the 52 lots in Phase One, 45 were sold in the first four months, beginning in mid-January.Construction on the second phase will begin this summer, which will include an additional seven riverfront lots. The third phase, which will include nine more riverfront lots, will be built next spring. If the current pace of building and demand continues, Couch said he expects all 175 homes to be completed by the end of 2006.

That’s not surprising to Realtor Bill Fanning, who specializes in waterfront sales. Though only a portion of these homes will be on the river, he considers the community to be an “urban waterfront environment.” And demand for waterfront property has skyrocketed in the past couple of years.

In 2003, Spokane, Kootenai and Bonner counties saw seven sales of waterfront properties valued at more than $1 million. That number jumped to 30 in 2004, most of which were in Kootenai County. The secondary-lot market, which has been weak for 25 years, is also seeing strong activity. In 2003, 43 homes on secondary waterfront lots in Spokane County sold at an average price of $117,000. In 2004, 67 homes sold at an average price of $126,000. Secondary lots are those not right on the water but which frequently have some type of access.

“You cannot find an urban waterfront environment for much under $200,000 in the market in Coeur d’Alene or Spokane,” Fanning said.

Fanning said River Run’s brisk sales pace bodes well for developer Marshall Chesrown’s planned development on the Summit property, overlooking the river just north of downtown Spokane. Plans call for at least 1,000 residential units, some of them overlooking the river.

Developer Don Barbieri also recently announced his plan to build high-end condominiums overlooking the Spokane River’s upper falls. In addition, an apartment complex on the west end of Browne’s Addition will be converted into condominiums, many with river views.

The River Run property also will house a 30-acre church, a five-acre park and a paved walking trail system. The 20 acres at the corner of Fort George Wright and Government Way eventually will be used for businesses. People who purchased riverfront lots don’t actually own the shoreline, due to setbacks.

City Planner Steve Haynes said the developers could have “crammed” more homes in if they’d wanted to because zoning allowed for more dense multifamily construction. However, Couch said the developers wanted the property to feel open.

“In the park alone, we could have put in 30 homes,” Couch said.

The property is owned by Fort Wright LLC, made up of 30 former stockholders of Central Pre-Mix Concrete, mostly members of the Murphy family. The majority shareholders are brothers Mike, Dan and Tim Murphy. Central Pre-Mix acquired the land in 1938 and until the late 1990s, operated a gravel pit there, Dan Murphy said. The owners sold the company in 1997, but retained the River Run property.

Tim Murphy said the family always planned to reclaim the site in some manner. A golf course was considered briefly, but would have required 200 acres, he said. The project may have taken longer to come to fruition because mining continued there longer than they expected. After it ended, “there had to be a lot of discussion” on the best development plan for the site, Murphy said.

“We’re greenhorns at this,” he said. “We’re concrete people with a nice piece of property.”

So nice, in fact, that Murphy’s own home is under construction there on a choice riverfront lot. Murphy said in all the time he’s spent on the property over the years, first as a boy visiting the site with his father, then as a business owner, he never dreamed he’d live there one day. But he couldn’t resist the views and proximity to downtown.

“We’re trying to make it a nice place to live in Spokane,” Murphy said. “It’s a very unique piece of property, and it’s unique to Spokane.”