High-end condominiums in and around downtown Spokane are selling briskly at a couple of projects, and prices of unfinished units are climbing higher in at least one instance.


Meantime, more condominium developments are being considered or are moving ahead in and near the citys core.


Am I bullish on the condo market in Spokane? Absolutely, says Spokane developer Mick McDowell, who has dusted off and revamped 7-year-old plans for a condo tower at the west end of downtown and is mulling whether to move ahead with a $15-million-to-$20-million project there. Every developer worth his salt is working on something with condos right now.


With more people living downtownor within walking distance some developers predict the core will start to have a more vibrant feel, and that the more affluent residents will bolster demand for shopping and services.


As the quality of downtown living grows, people view Spokane as being a baby Portland with a lifestyle thats quite appealing, says Spokane businessman Don Barbieri, who is heading up Upper Falls LLC, a company that recently broke ground on a 28-unit luxury-condo building on the north bank of the Spokane River, next to the Flour Mill retail and office building. You see the vibrancy in the Pearl District (in Portland). We think downtown Spokane is on the verge of having that now.


Barbieri says Upper Falls has sold more than half of the living units in the planned project, including all of the sixth-story penthouse units, the most expensive of which went for $1.1 million. The company has received reservations on another four living units, which start at just over $500,000.


Construction of Upper Falls is scheduled to be completed next fall.


McDowell says the success of Barbieris pre-sales effort is a good sign for the condo market, and reinforces his decision to investigate further whether to move forward with his project.


As envisioned now, McDowells project would include a 12-story tower overlooking the Spokane River and Peaceful Valley with a row of three-story townhouses fronting on the north side of Riverside, near where Riverside meets Sprague Avenue. McDowell hopes to have a pre-development conference with the city of Spokane in the next few weeks. He says he wont decide whether to move forward with that project, though, until clearing all regulatory hurdles.


He says the project would include a mix of high-end, luxury units on the upper floors and less expensive units on the lower floors.


A smaller project just west of downtown, at the southwest corner of Water Avenue and Cedar Street in the Peaceful Valley neighborhood, is well under way and is 50 percent sold out, says George Doran, president of George Doran General Contractors Inc., of Spokane, which is developing the four-unit building.


Doran says he sold one lower-level living unit there for $360,000 before breaking ground on the project this summer. In a recent appraisal, the value of that unit was well above its selling price, he says. He adds that he sold a larger, upper-level unit for $600,000 a couple of week ago, but hes holding off on selling the final two units until the building is substantially finished, which probably will be early next spring. Higher-than-anticipated construction costs and market demand both are playing a role in his decision. He expects the final two units to go for about $500,000 each.


Encouraged by the demand for the units in that project, Doran says he also now has in the works a seven-unit, high-end condominium project near downtown. He declines for now to disclose the potential projects location, but he says he hopes to start work on it next spring.


A handful of additional projects are either under way or being considered:


CPC Development Co.s proposed redevelopment of the four-story, former J.C. Penney Co. building, at 809 W. Main downtown, includes plans for 21 loft units on the buildings top two floors.


Work on the lofts is gearing up now, and the living units, which are expected to be priced at between $525,000 and $1 million, are scheduled to be completed next summer.


Baron Holding Co., of Spokane, has a project in the works at 1923 W. Clarke. That project will include between six and nine living units and will consist of high-income housing.


Wells & Co., of Spokane, has begun marketing the Morgan Building, at 315 W. Riverside, as a condominium building, but its unclear how many living units that building will house or what the asking-price range for units will be. Attempts to reach Ron Wells were unsuccessful.


Barbieri says he doesnt think the citys core will be overbuilt with high-living units because there is strong demand for that type of living. Besides, he says, most developers wont be able to secure bank financing without having a number of living units pre-sold.


Steven Meek, principal of Steven Meek Architects PS who has designed a few condo buildings, says he thinks demand will grow stronger as more people seek an urban lifestyle in Spokane.


Were seeing a group of people who are wanting to get away from the suburban life, Meek says. They travel. They have money, and they want a place they can lock and leave.