Hayden-based developer and contractor Whitewater Creek Inc. has obtained permits from Spokane County to begin construction of the first of two $16 million affordable-housing projects it has planned on the South Hill.

The 120-unit Summit Ridge Apartments complex will be located on a 5.6-acre parcel of land at 3307 E. 55th, a block outside of the south Spokane city limits, Spokane County building permit information shows.

Whitewater Creek couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

ZBA Architecture PS, of Spokane, designed the project.

The Summit Ridge complex will include six three-story apartment buildings, each with 20 units. Each apartment building will have a total of 24,400 square feet of living space, permit information shows.

The complex also will include a single-story, 2,300-square-foot community building and a 6,400-square-foot support services building.

As reported earlier in the Journal, the Summit Ridge complex will have one-bedroom to three-bedroom units ranging in size from 700 square feet to 1,200 square feet.

Whitewater Creek is planning a similar 120-unit apartment project that’s to be named Pine Rock and would be located on a 6-acre parcel at 3211 E. 55th, just west of the Summit Ridge project.

Building permit applications for the Pine Rock project, which ZBA Architecture also designed, are under initial review, county records show.

Both projects have received financing assistance through the Washington state Housing Finance Commission, which has said Summit Ridge will be restricted to tenants earning up to 60 percent of the median area income, and Pine Rock will be restricted to tenants earning up to 50 percent of the median area income.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calculates the annual median area income for a family of four at $62,900.