The empty dirt field sat quietly in Coeur d’Alene Friday morning, the hum of traffic along Ramsey Road the only audible sound, the morning commute the only movement in sight.

The vast field, 10 or so acres worth of topsoil, has sat for years, with only a giant dirt pile on its southern end — a longtime home for kids blazing trails on their bikes.

But by the time the sun rose into the mid-day sky, this field saw more movement, as it has periodically over the past few months. Granted, the movement was slight — a few dozers pushing dirt, a few pieces of heavy machinery idling, a few crews working both on the acreage and on Ramsey — but it was movement nonetheless, as the foundation for 249 new apartment and townhouse units.

The properties are part of a patchwork collection of plots connected to Bluegrass Lodge, a project that hit the city’s peripherals in early 2018 when Lake City Engineering, the applicant working on behalf of Copper Basin Construction, submitted a request for early review consultation. Copper Basin later requested and received approval for the 4.6-acre parcel to be rezoned to R-17.

But over the few years since, that project has grown, as new plans expanded the 4.6 acres into 17, most of which fall south of the original 2018 plans.

That first Bluegrass proposal is now coming to fruition: What was once a near-empty swath of land with a lone house and a cell tower along Ramsey Road in Coeur d’Alene has quickly sprouted into a multi-family residential development that will soon hit the open market. The cell tower — garnished in cloaking foliage to blend in more effectively to the Idaho landscape — is still there, but its neighborhood is substantially busier.

The 78-unit Bluegrass Lodge has emerged just south of Prairie Road from what was once near-empty land, as well, serving as a sign of things to come.

The still-empty, still-under-construction units boast a busy 176-stall parking lot, as sub-contractors and laborers are entering the final stages before Copper Basin Construction puts the apartments on the market.

The bulk of the complex includes eight two-story, multi-family apartment buildings. Five apartment buildings house 12 apartments apiece, while the remaining three house six apartments each. The complex also features an 1,800-square-foot clubhouse on the grounds’ newly created Switchgrass Lane.

Back south of Bluegrass, a few signs of progress emerge. One literal sign of familiarity — a street sign where West Wilbur Avenue will cut through the land — has been posted, along with the typical blue subdivision signs speaking new streets into existence. Those streets have been carved out and paved, and access tubes plumb up from the ground periodically in threes.

Hilary Anderson, community planning director for the city, said she was pleased with how Copper Basin has developed the once-vacant land to fulfill the swelling demand growth has placed on the local housing market.

“I think they’re responding very well to the market,” Anderson said. “In terms of livability choices, they’re definitely providing more of a townhouse feel with separate garages. It will definitely fill a need.”

Copper Basin has not indicated when the townhouses will be built and hit the market.