Meeting in the middle
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 12 months AGO
This tract off Division Street in Moses Lake is in development to help fill the “missing middle” of housing needs with more than 50 duplexes.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
The land being developed by Sapphire Homes Northwest in Moses Lake is a steep hillside that will need leveling, but it also offers lake views, said owner Troy Schmeil.
Part of Sapphire Homes’ development on the south side of Moses Lake includes expanding Eastlake Drive to meet Division Street, a much less steep grade than the current entrance to the neighborhood at West Nelson Road and Division.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | October 18, 2024 3:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — A new housing development in progress on the south side of Moses Lake could expand the housing options in town.
“You guys need entry-level housing,” said Troy Schmeil, owner of Bellevue-based Sapphire Homes Northwest, which is developing a tract of land off South Division Street. “On both sides of the state, you have … older apartment buildings and single-family (homes), and there’s nothing in between.”
What Schmeil is looking at is filling in what’s often called the “missing middle” — duplexes, fourplexes, townhouses and the like — large enough for a family, but less expensive than the $340,000 median home price in Grant County, or the $1,665 average home rental cost — if the family can even find a home to rent.
Under legislation passed last year in Olympia, a city with a population between 25,000 and 75,000 — for which Moses Lake narrowly qualifies — must allow at least two duplexes to a lot, four if the lot is near a major transit stop, according to the Multiple Research and Services Center. That opens up space within city limits for developments like Sapphire’s.
Most of Schmeil’s projects have been in the Seattle area; this is his first venture into eastern Washington. Still, he said, the need for missing middle housing is the same.
“I’ve done townhomes, I’ve done cottages, I’ve done (accessory dwelling units) and (detached accessory dwelling units),” Schmeil said. “I’ve got a case right now where instead of 10 houses in a project, I’m building 30, trying to get the price point down.”
The space Schmeil is working at in Moses Lake is a triangular tract located south of West Nelson Road between Division Street and Eastlake Drive. It’s a daunting prospect at first glance, being a fairly steep hill covered with sagebrush. Schmeil said he ran across it when looking at Moses Lake for a different land deal that didn’t pan out.
“What I do for a living is look at land and build houses,” he said. “I saw this (land), and I knew. It’s not the flattest piece of property in the world, but it also has views of the lake. I said, this would be kind of cool because it was right when COVID was starting out (and) there's people that are going to want to move over here, you’ve got a great employment base over there that’s growing.”
That was four years ago, Schmeil said, and the project has taken a lot longer than he expected, partly because the pandemic played havoc with the supply chain, but also because statewide energy requirements have driven the cost of building housing up dramatically.
“We're one of only a handful of states on the latest energy code,” he said. “Most states have actually backed off on that because they've realized that the incremental gains they’re getting just aren't working. HVAC has quadrupled in the last five, 10, years … and the efficiencies are not equaling the additional cost.”
The Sapphire Homes project is in the excavation phase now, leveling out the hill. It will comprise 56 lots when it’s finished, according to the site plan on the city’s website, which will mean more than 100 homes folks can move into.
“Ninety, 95% of them are set up on purpose for a duplex,” Schmeil said. “They’re 30-foot-wide lots, they’re plenty deep … so you can put a garage in there and have parking in the wintertime.”
The development will include expanding Bailey Avenue across Eastlake to join up with Nelson Road, according to the side plan and also connecting Eastlake Drive through to Division Street. The latter will ease the traffic on the steep hill where Nelson Road meets Division Street.
“And I think (this) something you guys hopefully will embrace, the missing middle between the apartments and the single-family housing,” Schmeil said, “the housing types that will hopefully bring down the cost of for people.”
The land being developed by Sapphire Homes Northwest in Moses Lake is a steep hillside that will need leveling, but it also offers lake views, said owner Troy Schmeil.
Part of Sapphire Homes’ development on the south side of Moses Lake includes expanding Eastlake Drive to meet Division Street, a much less steep grade than the current entrance to the neighborhood at West Nelson Road and Division.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
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