Potential Home Buyers Will Shape Neighborhood

Sat., Feb. 3, 1996

Ward Sanderson Staff Writer

The Gardens Ridge, a new 81-home addition to the MeadowWood subdivision in Liberty Lake, will be designed largely by potential home buyers.

Remax of Spokane and the Baines Corporation will sponsor a focus group next week, where the real estate company and builder will ask people what type of home or neighborhood they want to move into. Then they’ll take those suggestions to the bank by building the new addition to those specifications.

“We’d really like to ensure the success of Gardens Ridge by building what people want,” rather than trying to convince buyers to spring for someone else’s concept, said Larry Lapidus, a real estate agent with Remax Spokane who is the project manager for Gardens Ridge.

Unlike the existing MeadowWood neighborhoods, Gardens Ridge will consist of homes in a broad price range, from $110,000 to $180,000, aimed at a more diverse pool of potential buyers.

Currently, each individual MeadowWood neighborhood sticks pretty much to its own price point and market niche.

Gardens Ridge will sit on the southwest quadrant of MeadowWood, much of it overlooking Valley View Golf Course.

The new project is aimed at a variety of buyers - young professionals, singles, empty nesters and active retirees.

MeadowWood already has neighborhoods aimed at retirees and established families, but nothing really geared toward the younger, first-time home buyer.

“We feel that’s one group of home buyers whose needs are not so well addressed in MeadowWood now,” Lapidus said.

The focus group will cover everything from the kinds of architecture buyers prefer to what type of community they would like to belong to.

“(What) degree of community activities are people interested in? Do they want barbecues? Block parties? (From) community meetings … to vaulted ceilings, you name it,” Lapidus said.

The idea of interactive neighborhood planning isn’t entirely new.

Lapidus said the idea is already popular in parts of California.

Although the Baines Corporation is one of the focus group sponsors and will most likely be the project’s builder, no final decision has been made yet.

, DataTimes MEMO: What’s next The Gardens Ridge focus group will meet Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Inn, Sullivan Road and Interstate 90. People who want to participate should register in advance by calling Larry Lapidus at 922-9724 or Kathryn Jones at 458-7837.

What’s next The Gardens Ridge focus group will meet Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Inn, Sullivan Road and Interstate 90. People who want to participate should register in advance by calling Larry Lapidus at 922-9724 or Kathryn Jones at 458-7837.