QUINCY — It’s 20 acres that will never grow alfalfa again.

“We started work today, and we should be building by the first week of November,” said Othello-based home builder and real estate developer Angel Garza earlier this month.

Garza, along with Imagine Realty Group owner Jesse Dominguez, were in Quincy at noon Sept. 9 to cut the ribbon on the Palos Verdes Estates, a new, 65-home subdivision located west of Seventh Street Southwest around Q Street Southwest.

And while they haven’t sold any of these yet unbuilt houses, Dominguez said it isn’t for lack of interest.

“We’ve had about 30-40 inquiries, but we’re not taking any lot reservations until dirt starts moving,” he said.

With earthmovers now turning dirt and preparing the ground to be staked out, foundations to be poured and homes to emerge, Dominguez said all that remains is for Garza to figure out construction costs and set the prices for these homes.

“Soon, we’ll start reserving lots, and half will go within the first week,” Dominguez said, adding that interest in these homes has come from as far away as the West Side.

“Quincy is a hot spot,” he said. “I’m in awe of the number of calls and the interest.”

Garza, who has been building homes since his first development in Othello in 2008, said if lumber prices can stabilize and interest rates remain low, demand for new housing in the Columbia Basin should be “booming for a while yet.”

“We’re very busy. We build eight to 10 custom homes, high end, every year, plus we’re working on the third phase of the Sandhill Development in Othello,” Garza said. “We’re doing over 100 homes a year.”

Garza said if actual building begins in November, the first houses in the Palos Verdes Estates should be ready for occupancy in March or April 2022.

Dominguez said he expects the homes of Palos Verdes Estates — which will be a higher end, semi-customizable design anywhere from 1,500 to 2,400 square feet — to start at around $350,000, but that depends on the cost of supplies.

“It’s what we’re trying to do, but it’s really hard to get there. It fluctuates day by day,” he said.

Both Dominguez and Garza, who have worked together for a number of years, said they will also add some of their smaller signature series homes, aimed at first-time home buyers in a second development the two are eyeing, on 110 acres just east of Quincy High School.

“We’re doing our due diligence, and it’s looking good, we might close at the end of the month,” Garza said. “It would be just under 400 homes.”

Dominguez said the two are looking at another big development near Moses Lake.

“We’re really close,” he said. “An offer is on the table, and we’re going back and forth.”