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Supporters of trail system on South Hill bluff hope to find way to preserve land up for auction

The hillside parcel of land below Hatch Road, seen at right, is going up for auction and may sell to a new owner who would go ahead with a development plan already in place for condos, called Tuscan Ridge. The undeveloped parcel, shown Thursday, gets heavy use by bikers and hikers who park along Hatch Road, far right, and access the trail along the bluff. The development in the upper right of the photo is Quail Ridge. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
The hillside parcel of land below Hatch Road, seen at right, is going up for auction and may sell to a new owner who would go ahead with a development plan already in place for condos, called Tuscan Ridge. The undeveloped parcel, shown Thursday, gets heavy use by bikers and hikers who park along Hatch Road, far right, and access the trail along the bluff. The development in the upper right of the photo is Quail Ridge. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)Buy a print of this photo
By Mathew Callaghan For The Spokesman-Review

A group of concerned Spokane residents is trying to raise awareness about proposals to preserve a plot of land along the bluff overlooking Latah Valley before it goes up for auction next week.

On Jan. 11, 22.4 acres of land located at 5600 S. Hatch Road will be auctioned with a starting bid of $3 million. With the auction date drawing near, preliminary bids were due on Saturday.

In 2016, development plans were approved to build a 100-unit condominium on the property. These condos are likely to be built unless the land is bought by someone who wants to do something different with the property.

The land, called Tuscan Ridge, provides access points to numerous trails, boasts various forms of wildlife and has been described as “the crown jewel of the bluff,” said Phil Larkin, a member of the Friends of the Bluff.

The Friends of the Bluff is a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining and protecting Spokane’s High Drive Bluff, according to its website. Friends of the Bluff hoped to place a bid on the property at the preliminary bid deadline, but the group was unable to acquire enough funds to do so.

“It really is, in terms of recreational value, the crown jewel of the bluff. It has great views, unparalleled access and parking for about 30 cars.” Larkin said. “Unfortunately, it’s a borrowed asset, and the owner is ready to sell it. As soon as they can find a buyer, it’ll be snatched up and purchased. So citizens of Spokane really need to decide if they prefer luxury condos, or if they prefer easy access to views and trails.”

The property is owned by Yong Lewis, who bought the property in 2004 for $405,000. The county assessor’s office’s most recent assessment for the property values it at $487,000.

The realtors assisting in selling the property, Greg Durheim and Carol Groves of Windermere Real Estate, said they would wait to comment at least until after the auction.

Paul Knowles, the planning, development and real estate manager for Spokane County, said it’s tough to guess how much interest the auction will attract.

“And I say that, because it’s a very unique property,” Knowles said. “It’s also a really dynamic real estate market right now, where there’s just a lot of things in flux with higher interest rates and some uncertainty over the economy.”

The property is the largest slice of undeveloped privately owned property along the bluff. The property also has the largest parking area for Spokane residents, despite being privately owned.

Larkin believes that the property potentially becoming condominium units should be a cause for concern in many ways.

He cited Spokane County Parks Department’s recent master plan as evidence of the importance of preserving Spokane’s natural areas.

“Trails are wildly popular in Spokane, with 96% of respondents in this statistically valid survey indicating that they have used the trail system for walking, running or hiking and 88% of respondents indicating that providing recreation trails and greenways is an essential and very important aspect to natural lands programming.” Larkin said.

Larkin and other Friends of the Bluff members also believe the slope where the condos are proposed is unstable and prone to erosion.

“I really don’t know the financial gains,” said Garrett Jones, the city of Spokane’s parks director. “I just know from an engineering and infrastructure standpoint, it’s not the easiest to develop on whatsoever with the slope and the constraints that that site has.”

Jones says the minimum bid price of $3 million is well over the yearly budget allotted to the Spokane Parks and Recreation division. He remains hopeful his department can have a positive effect on the Tuscan Ridge property.

“I think even if this land was purchased by another private owner or developer, there still could be an opportunity to partner with groups like the Friends of the Bluff or the Conservation Futures Program to be able to look at those options of securing this land for public use,” Jones said.

Larkin wants to encourage Spokane residents to decide what’s important to them.

“We need higher density, middle tier housing for people.” Larkin said, “But do we need luxury condos sitting on an extremely unstable slope, where we could have a whole trail network? I think it’s a question that people need to answer. I think our leadership needs to probably put this parcel of land aside and say, not feasible. It’s not responsible. Let’s keep this land intact.”