After 35 years of trying to get the Beacon Hill planned unit development off the ground, developer Pete Rayner says construction of up to 3,000 residential units at the East Spokane site can move forward now that water will be accessible to the site.

Rayner, who operates Beacon Hill Spokane Inc. with Dave Baker, says that water access and the successful testing of a new water booster station has prompted the city of Spokane to approve permits for construction of a 57,000-gallon water storage tank.

Lyndon, Washington-based Baker Silo LLC is building the tank.

The booster station and water storage tank will cost about $2.5 million.

Although planning the 200-acre residential site has been in the works for 35 years, Rayner says getting water flowing to the land has taken about 10 years to accomplish. He attributes delays to challenging terrain and conditions from the city of Spokane that required a pressure-only system to pump the water throughout the site.

“We would’ve been in business 10 years ago if we had water,” says Rayner.

The Beacon Hill property is located over a mile east of Market Street and the North Spokane Corridor and lies south of East Valley Springs Road, near Esmeralda Golf Course.

Construction of the water booster station was expected to be completed last November, but Rayner says the project was stalled due to supply-chain disruptions that delayed the delivery of key components for the station.

While the water storage tank is under construction, Beacon Hill will continue developing water and sewer infrastructure and grading work, followed by sidewalk, street paving, and landscaping improvements.

Construction of the infrastructure improvements for the initial phase of the Beacon Hill site will cost about $12.5 million and is expected to be completed in 2025, he says.

Following infrastructure improvements, the initial phase of the Beacon Hill development will begin with construction of 580 residential units, which will include a mix of single-family homes, multifamily buildings, and townhomes in two platted neighborhoods, he says.

Rayner says he’s been developing the property for over three decades.

Now that the property has access to water, he says, “I might live long enough to see people living on and enjoying this spectacular place that is Beacon Hill.”