Spokane County gives go-ahead for luxury village community

Upon its completion, the Village at Midway will boast almost 500 housing units, a miniature golf course, grocery store, gas station, multiple pools, sports courts, restaurants, more than a dozen retail spaces and a koi fish pond.

About 5 miles north of the Spokane City limits, developers aim to make it a premier housing development.

“This will be as large and as luxurious as anything in the area,” Developer Cary Snow said. “People will be reminded of Liberty Lake or Kendall Yards.”

Spokane County has approved and issued building permits for the project’s first phase: seven apartment buildings totaling 176 units and a clubhouse.

The smaller of the two, the estimated cost of this phase alone is $55 million.

Located in Colbert, the 28-acre property is at the northeastern junction of U.S. Highway 395 and Hatch Road near Midway Elementary School.

“It will definitely be one of the more higher-end multifamily builds that we’ve done,” said Steve Goodmansen, multifamily housing manager for Bernardo Wills.

Goodmensen spoke on behalf of the architectural firm that was behind the Jefferson Alley apartments, a chic 41-unit mid-rise building in Kendall Yards and the Bella Tess Apartments, an artistic 600-unit apartment complex in Spokane Valley.

“The Village at Midway will be different,” Goodmansen said. “It’s going to have a flavor of its own.”

Contrary to the Bella Tess Apartments that feature bright colors and an edgy design, the Colbert project will take on a more elegant design.

Goodmansen said the design is in accordance to the developers’ vision that pays homage to the property’s history.

Clark and Evelyn Cordill owned and operated a dairy farm on the property beginning in 1948, according to Spokesman-Review reports.

Shortly after acquiring the property, it was bisected by U.S. Highway 395.

Decades later, the couple dreamed of developing the land after Thomas Carstarphen, then -manager of NorthTown Mall, identified it as the best site for a community shopping center, according to Spokesman-Review reports.

But their dreams were thwarted after the Washington state Department of Transportation seized 4.2 acres of the farm for highway improvements.

The two then sued the department claiming the project diminished the value of their property that was already garnering attention from developers.

During the lawsuit, two commercial real estate experts testified that the land prior to the highway project was worth $2.9 million to $3.5 million.

In 1997, after a four-year legal battle, the Cordill’s won $1.5 million in damages.

The two died in 2001 but their development dreams are alive with Snow.

A trustee of the family trust and relative of the Cordills, Snow has been working on development plans since 2019.

“(The Village at Midway) will be five minutes from everything you need yet you will still feel like you’re living out in the country,” Snow said. “It’s a luxurious spot surrounded by trees, super low crime, great public schools, lots of dogs and recreation – it will be what the area deserves.”

Though construction permits have yet to be submitted, Snow said the grocery store and gas station will be built first, beginning in the spring of next year.

Work on the residential buildings is expected for June of next year, according to Goodmansen. The first apartment structure is expected to take two years to complete.

After Phase 1 is complete, Goodmansen hopes to proceed immediately to Phase 2 – avoiding the demobilization of workers.

According to Snow, the retail-oriented portion of the plan is largely undetermined. This includes about 3 acres of space on the western edge of the property.

Current site plans show three buildings, each around 7,400 square-feet divided into five separate retail spaces.

Though Snow has already fielded inquiries from business owners including beauticians and dentists, he said ideas are still being pitched for the area. Instead, senior living or additional apartment buildings could be built.

Snow anticipates construction of the entire project could take up to eight years to complete.

The estimated cost of the second phase is $85 million, he said.

Rent costs are expected to be higher than market rate given its long list of amenities, which Snow is mindful of.

“We’re trying to do something really nice for the region in terms of something more high-end and community-building,” he said. “So keeping rents where they need to be is going to be a real challenge.”

Snow also developed the Ridge at Midway, an apartment complex across Hatch Road from the new project.

Though this type of work is not new to him, Snow said he cherishes the opportunity given the property’s history.

“It’s exciting to get to create something like this after the efforts of my family,” he said. “But I have been doing this work long enough to know there’s a long road ahead.”