Pratt Hills preparing to go vertical in Royal City
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months AGO
The Pratt Hills development in Royal City is beginning to take shape. Construction on the homes is expected to begin at the end of this month, with infrastructure complete by the end of October.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Saddle Creek, east of Royal City, is under development by CAD Homes. The lots there are larger than CAD’s usual development and are sold independently of the homes.
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. | September 5, 2025 3:15 AM
ROYAL CITY — Some long-awaited homes are finally about to take shape in Royal City.
“We’re hoping to be started by the end of September with vertical construction, and then the civil infrastructure done probably by the end of October,” said Drew Scott, owner and manager of CAD Homes, which is developing the Pratt Hills neighborhood in the middle of Royal City.
The development has been a while in the making. Pratt Hills was originally proposed in October 2022, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives. Stormwater drainage issues created delays, CAD Land Development Manager Sara Prather said in an October 2023 interview. CAD had already built the neighborhood immediately adjacent to Pratt Hills in 2019, according to Prather.
Nest Realty is handling sales on the development, Scott said. There are 19 different floor plans available, according to the real estate website Zillow. Nest’s website had one home listed in Pratt Hills Wednesday, an 825-square-foot home priced at $297,210. About half the prospective homes have been sold, Scott estimated, even before construction began.
Besides Pratt Hills, CAD has another development in the works in the Royal City area. Saddle Creek, about 4 miles east of town across from the Royal City Golf Course, will consist of 14 homes on 5-acre lots with community water and irrigation, Scott said. The arrangement at Saddle Creek is a little different from CAD’s usual process, in that CAD is partnering with a local landowner to sell the lots separately from homes. The buyer can have a CAD home built on the site, or go with another builder, or just leave it empty if they like. About five of the 14 lots in that development have sold, Scott said.
Farther west, CAD has a development underway in Mattawa, Bodrero Estates, which is selling quickly, Scott said.
“We’re just about done there,” he said. “It has slowed down with interest rates creeping up, but it’s still been steady Eddie.”
Mattawa and Royal City have both been in need of housing for a long time, Scott said.
“I don’t know if anyone’s actually done a subdivision in my lifetime in Mattawa,” he said.
Saddle Creek, east of Royal City, is under development by CAD Homes. The lots there are larger than CAD’s usual development and are sold independently of the homes.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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