Developers at 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort have broken ground on the first living units in the planned Alpine Glades development at the ski area near Chewelah, about 60 miles north of Spokane.

Residential construction planned this year includes an eight-unit condominium structure, a five-unit townhouse, and a single-family home, resort spokesman Kenleigh Hobby says in a press release.

Vandervert Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor on the condo and townhouse projects.

Copeland Architecture & Construction, also of Spokane, is the contractor on the single-family home project.

The condo structure, which is sold out, is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in November or December, in time for some or all of the next ski season, Hobby says.

Hill Architects, of Portland, and Studio Cascade Inc., of Spokane, are designing the development, and Edmonton, Alberta-based Stantec Inc., which has a Spokane office, is providing engineering services.

The 50-acre, 190-lot Alpine Glades mixed-use subdivision is the first of three subdivisions planned for the Sunrise Basin community.

The master plan for Sunrise Basin includes 320 acres of private land envisioned with up to 2,200 residential units, 800 hotel guest rooms, and 360,000 square feet of commercial space.

The development is surrounded by 2,100 acres of U.S. Forest Service land on which the resort operates under a 40-year special-use permit.

Work also is underway at the base of the Sunrise Quad chairlift near Alpine Glades, including new paths and bridges for skier access, a high speed fiber-optic network, and sewer and water systems, Hobby says.

New snowmaking infrastructure and equipment will include water storage and snowmaking guns and pumps, which will increase snowmaking capacity to enable the resort to open more early-season terrain, and keep terrain covered during the season. 

Two miles of Nelson Creek Road, which provides access to Alpine Glades via a connection to Flowery Trail Road, also will be paved this year, Hobby says.