Build it and they will come?

New construction projects are popping up like mushrooms in Issaquah. The active projects list, defined as one which an applicant has applied for a permit, had 30 projects on the list as of March 21.

Scattered in all directions, the majority of actual construction and dirt moving is in the Issaquah Highlands, although Alta at the Lake, a development of 80 town homes on the cusp of Sammamish, has sold out its first phase with three or more phases to come.

“Phase I sold out in about a week,” said marketing agent Randy Reeves with Windermere Real Estate East. Reeves said the last release sold in the $370,000 to $450,000 range. Reeves said demand is high and buyers who aren’t interested in living in a master planned development, like the Highlands, are attracted to Alta.

Most of the commercial construction is taking place in the Highlands Grand Ridge Plaza, a 280,113-square-foot retail center currently under construction. The 12-screen Regal Cinema will be the first to open sometime in early summer in time for the summer movie season according to Christopher Wright, project oversight manager for the city. Three new restaurants will open sometime this summer, including The Ram Restaurant and Brewery, followed by Safeway which plans to open a grocery store and fueling station in September.

Other high-profile businesses slated for Grand Ridge Plaza are Marshalls, HomeGoods, DICK’S Sporting Goods and Zumiez. Bellevue College has purchased a 20-acre parcel of land in the Highlands as the future home of its east campus. The site is located up the hill from Swedish Hospital Issaquah, on the East side of Highlands Drive. Bellevue College is already working with city officials on the planning process and intends to start with a single-building learning center. A road to the property, called College Avenue, is completed.

Outside of the Highlands, in the Rowley development, a 120-room extended stay hotel has received planning approval. Just north of Grand Ridge Plaza, construction will begin this summer on 12 town homes, called the Issaquah Highlands Townhomes, a product of Ichijo USA. Each townhome will have approximately 2,200 square feet, 3 bedrooms, a den, 3.5 bathrooms, a rooftop deck and a double garage. These units are directly across from the retail center/movie theater. The units are estimated to be complete in late fall or early December. Price point is yet to be determined, but they will likely be in the upper $400’s to low $500’s, said Amy Tovell, marketing agent for Ichijo.

Tovell said the company is currently going through the approval process on a subdivision in the Highlands of 36 single family homes, that they hope to break ground on at the end of the year. She said depending on the market, these custom homes will most likely start in the mid $500,000 range.

Ichijo has an almost completed 3,700 square-foot, built green, five-star rated, single-family custom home on a view site in the Highlands, which it plans to showcase through open houses by the end of May or early June.

Part of the old Lakeside development property, the eastern tract, has been purchased by Polygon Homes. Lakeside had a previous filling and grading permit which it is working on now. Polygon is tentatively planning a development of 260 multi-family homes on the 13-acre tract.

A pedestrian-friendly neighborhood is planned near Highlands’ retail center, also by Polygon Homes. The Brownstones at Issaquah Highlands, still in the review stage, calls for 176 townhouse-style condominiums. The project is on 8.48 acres north of the Discovery Heights apartment homes and south of Grand Ridge Plaza. Construction is expected to start later this year, with project completion slated for 2015.