Developer Marshall Chesrown, fresh from opening the exclusive Black Rock golf course at Coeur dAlene Lake, has begun work on an upscale, 500-home housing development in Liberty Lake.


Aapex Construction Inc., of Post Falls, has started site work at the development, which is to be called Legacy Ridge. Bill Radobenko, a partner in Aapex, also is a partner in the Liberty Lake project.


A property-sales office should open at Legacy Ridge by September, and home construction could begin there by next year, says Doug Smith, planning director for the city of Liberty Lake.


Chesrown bought the more than 500-acre parcel last year for an undisclosed price. Its located south of Interstate 90, west of Liberty Lakes commercial district, and encompasses the old Holiday Hills ski area.


Almost every site on (the property) has some type of view, whether of Spokane, Liberty Lakes golf courses, or the lake itself, Chesrown says.


Lots in the development will range in size from about 15,000 square feet up to more than an acre, Chesrown says. Theyll be grouped into four neighborhoods, each of which will have a different price range, he says. The largest parcels, located at the top of the hill, will be part of a gated community, but the rest of the property wont be enclosed, he says.


Houses at Legacy Ridge should range in price from just over $200,000 to well over $1 million, including the price of the lot, Chesrown says.


Some lots will be sold directly to homeowners so they can have custom homes built, while others will be sold to builders, he says. Those builders havent been selected yet, he says. Chesrown says he expects the project to be completed in five to seven years.


Therell be a lot of neighborhood amenities at Legacy Ridge, Chesrown adds, such as a trail system that will run throughout the property and eventually will connect to Liberty Lakes larger trail system. He declines for now to say what other amenities the development will have.


Taylor Engineering Inc., of Spokane, is the project engineer, and land planning is being done by Frank Vaught, of Fort Collins, Colo.-based V.F. Ripley Associates Inc., who also planned Black Rock.