A North Idaho developer has changed its plans for a big residential and resort development it owns on the Pend Oreille River, near Sandpoint, opting for more single-family homes, rather than condo-style housing, because homes are easier to finance in the current economy.

The developer, Sandpoint-based Waterfront Property Management LLC, recently re-platted a portion of its Dover Bay resort to add 86 one- or two-bedroom single-family detached homes called bungalows, says Ralph Sletager, managing partner. Initially, that part of the development, called Parkside, was envisioned to include 92 condominium units, he says.

The development, located about 1.5 miles west of Sandpoint along U.S. 2, also includes resort-type facilities. Waterfront Property Management is developing and operating both the commercial and residential portions.

Overall, the Dover Bay development is approved for 540 homes, though plans now call for 450 homes, with about 50 percent of its 300 acres to be left as open space, Sletager says. About 31 condo units have been constructed and sold in two of 11 distinct neighborhoods, and altogether 168 units or home sites have been sold. The development also includes homes that the developer will build for individuals, as well as lots where people can purchase a site and build their own custom home. The development also includes a system of trails and open spaces, a marina, exercise club, and rental vacation bungalows. The company plans to begin renting vacation homes soon.

The change to single-family bungalow homes from condos was because of the market downturn for condos, Sletager says.

"The bungalows have the same amenities of a condo, but you own the land under the house," says Sletager's son, John Sletager.

Ralph Sletager adds that the development is weathering the recession well because it offers choices that would be attractive to everyone from young families to retirees. The options vary from denser neighborhoods near the marina and bungalow units to single-family homes on larger lots. Home prices at Dover Bay start at $198,000, Sletager says.

"We're slower than in previous years, but what we've got is a breadth of market that's different than most people," he says.

He says he thinks the project also has continued to move forward because customers can buy lots and build later.

Sletager says all 11 neighborhoods in the development have been started, and all of the waterfront lots in the Dover Point neighborhood are sold.

"We are only trying to release, even in a slow market, the number that will be absorbed," he says. Currently, the first four bungalow units in the Parkside Bungalow neighborhood are under construction, and one of those is sold.

Sletager says the development will add an estimated 1,500 residents to Dover, which had about 230 residents when the development began.

The development has been designed with modular amenities, which means residents can pick, a la carte style, what amenities they want, whether it's a boat slip or fitness club use, for example. Sletager says he has found one of the biggest concerns people have about such developments is that they will become enslaved to the costs of club membership, and the homeowners essentially subsidize the operation of the facilities. Dover Bay is not designed that way, he says.

He says each amenity is a commercially viable operation in its own right. That way, the developer can keep homeowner fees low, Sletager says.

The commercial facilities, such as the marina, the gas dock, the caf, and rental bungalows, which were completed last year, all are doing well, he says.

All of the infrastructure for the development has been constructed, totaling about $9 million in cost, and the developer also has constructed about $13 million in facilities and improvements for the city of Dover, including a new City Hall, city beach, new fire station and fire truck, and a $7 million wastewater treatment station, along with paving and other improvements. The fact that the infrastructure work is completed buoys the development and the community, Sletager says.

"We built a big water storage tank, paved the streets of old Dover—this is done," Sletager says. "We don't have to go and build a sewer plant."

The development is part of an Idaho urban renewal district that already has reimbursed the developer for $7 million of the municipal improvements, he says.