Companies headed by three prominent Spokane developersDick Vandervert, Rich Naccarato, and Craig Condronare preparing to move forward with major projects on 140 acres of vacant land on the West Plains.


Buildings in the three projectsa $20 million retail center, a $22 million apartment complex, and a 247-lot residential subdivisionare expected to begin coming out of the ground next spring. All three are located at the northeast corner of U.S. 2 and Hayford Road.


The Vandervert concern, Granite Investments LLC, has begun making infrastructure improvements on the land nearest that intersection for the planned retail center.


Granite has sold 42 acres of vacant land along Hayfordnorth of where the retail project will be locatedto Cedar Summit Estates LLC, a company Naccarato established, for the envisioned apartment complex. Also, Granite sold to residential developer C&L Development, a Condron-owned company, 60-plus acres of land east of the apartment-complex site, behind the retail center site.


Condron says the developers are working together on street design, lighting, and landscaping so that it will be consistent within the three developments and so that the projects will merge into a common community.


Granite Investments had announced plans in 2000 to develop the retail center on a portion of the 140-acre property, and the following year said it also would pursue a multifamily housing development elsewhere on the site. Last year, Vandervert says, the company decided to sell land designated for housing to other developers.


We thought wed let the expert on apartments do his thing, let the residential expert do his thing, and let me focus on the retail, Vandervert says.


The shopping center, which is to be called Cross Pointe Plaza, will include 178,000 square feet of retail space and likely will be anchored by a supermarket. It also will include four free-standing retail pads that are expected to be taken by a bank, a gas station, a fast-food restaurant, and a drug store. Vandervert says he is negotiating with two supermarket chains who are interested in putting an anchor store at the center. He expects to have one of them signed before construction starts on the center next spring.


Naccaratos multifamily-residential development will include 26 apartment buildings and 21 duplexes, with a total of 383 living units, as well as a community swimming pool and exercise facilities, Naccarato says. The apartment units are expected to range from 660-square-foot units with one bedroom and one bathroom to 1,240-square-foot units with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.


He says the duplexes will have slightly larger two-bedroom, two-bathroom units with double-car garages.


Naccarato says he expects to start work on the first apartment buildings early next year and to have the first units available for rent late next fall.


The apartment complex will be comparable in design to Cedar Canyon Villas, which Naccarato developed near the southeast corner of 57th Avenue and Regal Street on Spokanes South Hill.


Cedar Summit on the West Plains will include a community swimming pool and exercise facilities.


Naccarato says it likely will take about three years to complete the apartment development.


In the single-family home development, Condron says he expects to start work on a model home in March and to begin marketing the first 34 home lots shortly thereafter.


The subdivision will be named Sekani at Cross Pointe, Condron says. Sekani is an American Indian word that means dwellers of the rocks, he says.


Homes built there likely will be in the $110,000-to-$180,000 price range and are expected mostly to attract first-time home buyers.


Were trying to address a need out there, Condron says. Theres a tremendous amount of employment and very little quality subdivision housing.


That property received a zone change from Spokane County to allow for single-family housing there.