Homes planned on river near Millwood

A mining operation on the banks of the Spokane River could be transformed under a proposal to build homes on the property.

Coeur d’Alene’s Neighborhood Inc. is planning to develop 30 homes and several townhouses and condominiums on 45 acres east of Millwood, just south of the Spokane River.

Some of the land is undeveloped, but other portions were used for sand and gravel mining until recently by Spokane Rock Products, said Cliff Mort, co-owner of Neighborhood Inc.

The property includes 30 waterfront lots that were subdivided a century ago but never developed. Those sites are where the single-family homes are planned.

The land borders the Centennial Trail and Myrtle Point, a Spokane Valley park only accessible by the trail. It also is adjacent to cement company land and until recently was home to towering silos.

Mort said the development will be named Coyote Rock, after a landmark across the river from the property.

Marina Sukup, Spokane Valley’s community development director, said the proposal likely will require extra scrutiny in the approval process because of its proximity to the river. She said there may be a need for environmental cleanup because a railroad line used to be active on the site.

Still, she said, the plans have the potential to make the site a “landmark” project.

“It really is an area that is a great candidate for fuller development,” Sukup said

Mort compared Coyote Rock to Mill River, an upscale commercial and residential development by Neighborhood Inc. on the former Crown Pacific mill site along the Spokane River in Coeur d’Alene.