Neppel Estates could offer workforce housing for Moses Lake, Ephrata
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
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. | June 13, 2025 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — There’s nothing at Neppel Estates yet, but there could be.
“Our client is a developer that bought the property years and years ago with the idea that he was going to develop the lot,” said John Rosenthal, president of Realty Marketing Northwest, which has the property listed for auction. “He’s over in western Washington and he doesn’t want to spend more time … he wants to get it unloaded on an as-is basis.”
Neppel Estates is halfway between Ephrata and the Grant County International Airport just off SR 17. It’s subdivided into 39 one-acre homesites plus a six-acre lot. One of the homesites is already purchased, according to the auction listing, but has not been developed.
The area is zoned for five-acre residential lots, according to the auction materials, but the plat was recorded and approved by the county in 1996 before those regulations were adopted, so the smaller homesites are grandfathered in.
The lots aren’t ready to go, but can be prepped as homesites.
“Whoever buys it is going to have to spend money buying the water rights, which a water rights consultant told (the client) would probably be less than $5,000 per lot,” Rosenthal said. “And then, of course, you'd have to put in the roads and on-site septic.”
The property is listed with a reserve bid of $395,000, a substantial decrease from the county’s real market value of a little over $1.5 million, according to the auction listing. The terms are a 25% down payment and 4.75% interest payable over four years.
The site’s location near the Port of Moses Lake and the various manufacturing facilities located there means Neppel Estates would make good workforce housing, Rosenthal said.
“You can develop these lots and sell manufactured homes, or put manufactured homes on the lot and rent them,” he said.
More information can be found at www.rmnw-auctions.com.
Neppel Estates has the potential to provide housing for 39 families between Ephrata and Moses Lake.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
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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.
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