SPOKANE -- Two years after the Kendall Yards groundbreaking, all that Spokane land remains empty. But a new owner is submitting new building plans.
Greenstone Homes bought the prized 78-acre property along the Spokane River from Marshall Chesrown in the fall. Chesrown wanted to make Kendall Yards a condo filled, luxury shop laden property. He failed. But his project was subjected to a long battle with west central homeowners. On Tuesday, those same homeowners were looking forward to the new plans.
Stephanie Swan says she can't wait. She has lived in this neighborhood for 36 years. But it wasn't too long ago Swan and others in the neighborhodd were concerned. Chesrown's plans were large in scale. Critics said it was too large. But plans filed January 7 with the city show what Greenstone has in mind. Only 900 homes. Just 700,000 square feet of commerical space. No more connection with the Maple Street Bridge.
Now, it's up to Spokane's hearing examiner to decide how soon construction can start. Since Chesrown's project was approved, Greenstone is only asking for an amendment. If the changes are too great, there will be a public process. If not, work could start very soon. For longtime homeowners like Gary Hawkins, the sooner the better.
"We built this as our retirement home and was hoping to retire with this. It's been awhile. We're hoping it'll come soon," said Hawkins.
Calls made to Greenstone were not returned. The city examiner is expected to make a decision in the next few weeks. The project would take 15 years to finish.
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