The city of Spokane's hearing examiner has approved a zone change that will allow plans for a 402-unit residential project on Sunset Hill to proceed.

The project, tentatively called Grandview Park, is expected to include a total of 390 condominium units in nine buildings, 12 single-family homes, and a clubhouse. The project site is located on a forested hillside at 3000 W. 14th, just south of Interstate 90 and a few blocks west of state Route 195. A portion of the 17-acre site once was used for World War II-era military barracks.

The zone change to a land-use designation of residential multifamily-70 allows the developer, Grandview-Washington LLC, of Seaside, Calif., to seek permits to build condominium structures up to 70 feet tall on the site, says the decision written by Hearing Examiner Greg Smith. The previous designation, residential multifamily-35, allowed buildings to be only half that tall.

Steven Meek, of Spokane-based Steven A. Meek Architects, applied for the zone change on behalf of the developer. He says the condominium buildings will range in height from four to seven stories.

The project is in the early design stage, and the starting date for construction will depend on the state of the economy, Meek says.

"If everything goes perfect it will be close to three years before the doors open on the first phase," he says.

The project is proposed to be developed in three phases with the first phase, including the two-story, 6,800-square-foot clubhouse and 164 condominium units, on 14th Avenue.

The single-family homes, which would be built at the southeast corner of the site in the second or third phase, each would have two stories and would range from 1,500 to 1,800 square feet of floor space, Meek says. They would be clustered, with common open spaces, and access to the homes would be via Milton Street and 16th Avenue.

Condominium units would range from 800 to 1,400 square feet of floor space, Meek says. Access to the condominiums would be via 14th and 16th avenues. The plans call for 644 parking stalls, most of which would be located under the buildings.

Meek declines to disclose estimates of construction costs and sales prices for the project. The developer hasn't selected a contractor yet, he says.