Ephrata housing development emerges

Homes boast new floor plans

EPHRATA - An area developer is teaming up with a Richland, Wash.-based builder to create a 244-home development in Ephrata.

There is a demand for more modern housing in Grant County's seat of Ephrata, which is considered by some to be a bedroom community to Moses Lake, a town about 20 miles away, said Jim Weitzel, a branch broker with Gary Mann Real Estate.

There are many smaller older homes that were built in Ephrata during the 1950s, Weitzel noted.

The town's new development, Prairie Bluff, is touted as "Ephrata's Upscale Community" and is located in the Ephrata Heights section of town, according to a promotional brochure.

Already, 14 homes have been sold in the development, said Gary Mann, real estate broker with Gary Mann Real Estate in Moses Lake. Mann is also a developer and listing agent for Prairie Bluff.

During a recent open house, a staff member was so busy with customers that extra help was needed, Mann said. He called the new homes "pretty much custom housing" and three exterior colors are offered.

He thinks the subdivision may be Ephrata's largest in the past 20 or 30 years.

Eight lots have been reserved for future homes, Weitzel said.

There's currently one home ready for an owner to move into and a second home is almost completed, Weitzel said. By Thanksgiving, three more homes are expected to be completed, he added.

It takes between three months to four months to build a home, Weitzel noted.

Lots measure between 7,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet, said Dan Olin, owner of Alderbrook Homes LLC, the builder for the project.

Prices for the new homes start at $154,900 up to more than $250,000, depending on the type of floor plan, Mann said. Homes can be either one-level or two-level.

There's a standard floor plan with a long hall-way and separate kitchen and living room areas. A newer idea, the "great room" concept, is part of a more open floor plan, Olin said.

Optional upgrades include a gas fireplace, 9-foot ceilings, vaulted ceilings, cabinet wood choices such as alderwood and options with carpet, vinyl, laminate and granite.

Included in the price of the home is a sheetrocked and insulated garage and an underground sprinkler system for the front yard, Mann said.

Those additions cost between $10,000 to $15,000, but are considered part of the price and also mean there are no vinyl doors or vinyl trim. But there are Maytag appliances and a better quality of flooring in the homes, Olin said.

Olin said the lots are ready for fiber-optic service because the conduits are in.

The development consists of four phases and there are 56 homes in Phase 1, Mann said.

Mann said he knows of people who work in Moses Lake but want to live in Ephrata because of the good schools and the small-town lifestyle.

Weitzel said Ephrata has always been a top school in the areas of academics, sports and art.