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Centrally located... with a view

by Rick Thomas
| February 27, 2010 11:00 PM

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<p>Magnus Mendenhall, a drywall finisher for Drywall Masters, applies texture to the walls of a condo Tuesday in Bayview.</p>

BAYVIEW - Like the former beauty queen who made a few bad choices in life and let herself go, this little city on the big lake is discovering that all she needed was a good makeover to restore the beauty that was still beneath her skin.

Several years after developer Bob Holland began buying up property in the city with plans for redevelopment, much of it has been completed, including renovation of some of the old marinas.

There is only one thing left.

"Sales," Holland said.

While he has sold his interest in some of the real estate he bought in Bayview, and completed some projects, the Waterford Windmills Properties owner still owns the Harborview Marina, Vista Bay Marina, Boileau's Resort including the patio deli and float home spaces.

In the process of building a new seawall, Holland raised the ire of many by disturbing kokanee spawning beds, and by putting up for sale the sites of floathomes he leased from the state.

The beds and marinas have been restored, and the first 15 condominiums built from what had been Navy facilities are sold out. At Vista Bay, half of the 36 marina slips have been sold, at a price of $69,900.

The price buys membership in the new clubhouse, which offers baths, showers, washers, dryers and other facilities for boaters. The homeowners association now leases the site from the state, with about eight years remaining on the renewable 10-year option.

On the steep slopes of Vista Bay, the first three of nine luxury condominiums are finished and on the market.

Dan Davis and son Danny of Dan Davis Realty are marketing the condos, which are 1,690 square feet each on three levels and priced at $595,000, with boat slips.

The clubhouse was built on the former Vista Bay Restaurant. It was decided to close that operation, because the patrons would use up all the limited parking spaces.

"The theory is they can come with a boat and have a place to wash, use the sundeck and have a place to swim," Dan Davis said. Because the deep water, 110 feet at the end of the marina and 1,600 feet deep only a few hundred feet away at the U.S. Navy submarine base, prevents freezing, it is a place boats can be left year-round.

A boat launch only a few minutes away on the water provides easy access.

Some of Holland's plans have changed in the past few years.

A narrow 300-foot stretch of property along Vista Bay that was to be an RV facility was sold to a Spokane company. The sale is pending, and the buyer, Noel Thoen, declined to provide details of his plans.

The developer of storage facilities in Spokane, who operates under the name Samca, LLC in Washington, and former publisher of free advertising publications has owned property on Hayden Lake for 46 years. He expects to build a home for himself, and possibly six more condos on the site.

"I wanted to get away," he said.

He saw Bayview as an opportunity with the improvements that have been made.

"Bob has done a good job there," he said.

He is keeping to himself how soon he plans to develop the property and exactly what the nature of it will be.

"I think it's slow right now, that's for sure," Thoen said.

The plans for the RV facility fell through because the county did not allow permanent residents on the site, but some who were using the sites started adding skirts and staying beyond the 90 days required.

"They just needed to go get gas and come back," Danny Davis said.

Designed by Miller Stauffer Architects the new condos feature an abundance of heavy wood, such as quarter-sawn log stairway bases, floors and solid doors. The solid doors of the attached garages open vertically, but have hardware that gives them the look of carriage houses.

Building on the hill provided each level with a view over the bay.

"It is very relaxing in the summertime," Danny said.

But at 26 miles from Sandpoint and?Coeur d'Alene, they are also ideal for year-round use, Dan said.

The lower level includes a small sitting room, two bedrooms and a large bath suite, all designed for summer guests. The top level is a bedroom suite, while the main floor includes kitchen, dining and living space at street level.

"We call them villas," Danny said.

Along the shore are 40 public boat slips adjacent to an 800-foot public beach.

"Public docks are important," Dan said. "Half has to be set aside for the public."

One more thing: They sit adjacent to Farragut.

"It's a 4,000-acre park," Dan said. "It's quite a recreation spot."

Holland said he put $2.5 million into the Vista Bay project alone.

Back in the big city of Bayview, Holland sold off some of his holdings. The former trailer park was sold to former Washington State University and Arizona Cardinals football player James Darling of Liberty Lake, who is building a 12-unit condominium on the site.

The former Bayview Scenic Motel is now apartments owned by former basketball player Danny Vranes and partners Randy Zundel and John Goodwin, managed by Norma Jean Knowles.

She is also the office manager for Chan Karupiah, who owns the Bayview Mercantile, Scenic Bay Marina, JD's Resort and Bay Cafe and also bought the Buttonhook Inn from Holland. Karupiah also leases the Boileau's Resort and Marina.

That is expected to reopen in the spring. Meanwhile, redecking the docks at the marina has started, she said.

Though development continues at a rapid pace, the winter was the slowest Knowles has seen since Holland hired her to run the hotel in 2006.

"There are not a lot of people in town," she said. "I'm hoping and praying it will bounce back again."

That could happen with a boost from another new occupant of Bayview. Brent Christian, owner of Tobler's Marina, plans to open a sales and service operation in the JD's Marina building.

It will provide access to the water for boat demos.

"I'll open around mid-April," Christian said. "The existing building is being remodeled."