A few years ago, we repurposed some property in Rockford Washington into a couple of multi-unit (duplex) properties and a single family home. What was once a burned out eyesore/relic of the past, became refreshed, renewed and repurposed in what we felt was a remarkable transition. We’re going to take you through a several part series on how we put this project together, and the outcome that became of it.
The Origin Story
In the throws of the Covid Pandemic, Rich had freshly completed an investment spec home build in North Spokane with a builder/client of ours. The project penciled out well, and he was able to create a win-win by creating some much needed inventory in the market, and a successful transaction for himself.
After a few brainstorming sessions we decided to put our heads together and build another. What began was the beginning of a five-year (and counting) journey and the creation of Pacific Homes Northwest, our Construction and Land Development arm that runs alongside the Spokane Home Guy Group (founded in 2007). Our goal is to build quality affordable single family homes and investment grade Real Estate. We’re working on a lot of exciting stuff, but that’s a story for another day.
Opportunity Knocks
Fast forward to 2022. We came across a well known property on the southern end of Rockford Washington. This property had burned (almost completely) leaving behind a mess of “general liability” in the form of leaning walls, rusty nails, and hazards.
We were first made aware of the property a year or two earlier… before our minds were tuned to finding vacant land and value add opportunities. Had we recognized the opportunity back then, our entry price would have been far less (nearly half the cost), and prior to the home burning down! We all live and learn I guess!
The Decision
This property was intriguing. Three platted lots under one parcel. In Rockford, at the time, we could do a simple boundary line adjustment and create three 50 foot by 100 foot buildable lots. Each of the three lots could support a duplex. The minimum lot size and set backs have since changed, and you can still find great opportunities all around Spokane County.
We quickly put this parcel in contract and got to work.
Clean Slate
This wasn’t our first experience demolishing a home in Spokane County. We’d recently removed an old Farmhouse multiple sheds and chicken coops and a number of trees in our “Farmhouse to Foundations” project in North Spokane. This was, however, the first time we’d dove (head first) into removing an OLD mostly destroyed home. This came with some new lessons.
Before your demolish a home in Spokane County you must first have an environmental study completed on the home. The Spokane Clean Air Authority wants to make sure that while disturbing the structure and surrounding area, that you do not propel any hazardous materials (Asbestos among other things) into the air. This process, while necessary, is expensive and time consuming. I’ll never forget the call we made to the Environmental Contractor.
His first words were:
“You haven’t bought it yet, have you?”
This made my heart sink. Fresh off the confidence of our previous project (which was a breeze by the way), we quickly learned that fire damaged structures are the most difficult (and expensive) to test and mitigate. I mean, it makes sense.
We moved forward with a minimum sample quantity with a maximum TBD. Our previous project yielded between 100 and 200 samples all testing for various hazards. This property was similar, with the added element of the scary “TBD.”
As luck would have it, the property was too old in many ways for Asbestos. We got the green light to move forward on demolition.
We really like using Rob’s Demolition in Spokane. They do a great job, very efficient and thorough and leave the site looking clean. They took care of our permitting, had dust suppression on site, and got us taken care of in a few days.
It wouldn’t be long and we’d be breaking ground on a couple duplexes and a single family home. In Part 2 we’ll detail the process of Boundary Line Adjusting the lots with Spokane County, and getting the ball rolling utility improvements! Stay Tuned!