Originally published October 11, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified October 14, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Danny Westneat
Unwanted subdivisions are our modern-day ghost towns
Skamania County builder David Bennett figured developing a subdivision along the Columbia Gorge was a can't-miss opportunity. But today the lots "won't sell now at any price," he says.
![]() |
Seattle Times staff columnist
STEVENSON, Skamania County — They're so behind the times down here there's not one stoplight in the entire county. And that's a big point of pride.
So a couple of years ago, when developers started building two new subdivisions — the kind where the homes have granite countertops and price out north of $600,000 — it seemed like a mirage.
Prosperity, long a stranger here, was moving into one of the poorer counties in the state.
"We thought: If we build it, they will come."
That's David Bennett, an exuberant 56-year-old builder who figured the Columbia Gorge was a can't-miss opportunity.
He's now out a quarter-million bucks. He built 22 homes, out of 73 planned, before the project collapsed, a victim of the housing and banking meltdown.
All told, 51 lots went into foreclosure. Now the 28-acre Hidden Ridge subdivision really is a mirage. It's got new lamp posts lining freshly paved cul-de-sacs. But no homes, only weeds and cockeyed, rusting for-sale signs.
"They won't sell now at any price," Bennett said. "Not without giving them away."
His own house, in the neighboring Angel Heights subdivision, is in the red, too. He paid $539,000 for it two years ago. It wouldn't sell for that now. The house next door is on the market for $409,000, with no takers. The one next to that is in foreclosure.
We walk through the empty Hidden Ridge. Bennett tells of his dream of restarting the project, as soon as the current economic crisis subsides. As soon as he can get the banks to listen.
There are only 10,500 people in all of Skamania County. Yet the Gorge is so beautiful, Bennett is convinced luxury homes can sell here.
It strikes me that spots like this, common now in Vegas and Phoenix and San Diego, are our modern-day ghost towns. Abandoned not due to migration or new inventions like the automobile, as it was with the old ghost towns of the West. But due to frenzy.
![]()
"People got greedy, and it all got too heated," Bennett said. "We went too high, too fast for this little town."
Bennett went home, and we drove east in the rain. The radio was all a-panic about the Dow. At the edge of town were some bulldozers. They crawled across a hillside, cutting roads and cul-de-sacs for another planned subdivision, oblivious to the news.
Danny Westneat: dwestneat@seattletimes.com or 206-464-2086
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
More Danny Westneat headlines...
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
dwestneat@seattletimes.com | 206-464-2086
Danny Westneat: TV's digital promised land
Danny Westneat: When rules trump ingenuity
Danny Westneat: What hooked you on the Web
Danny Westneat: Taking the bad with the good
Danny Westneat: Showing up is a show of strength

Snoqualmie flooding
Early flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley from the Snoqualmie and Tolt Rivers.
AP's News Minute
All of today's news in one minute.
nwautos

Choosing a new minivan or van? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Mystery solved: Gov. Gregoire visiting troops in Iraq
- Kirkland's Jason Mesnick spills about "The Bachelor"
- Puyallup mom who attacked child molester with baseball bat pleads guilty to assault
- Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
- Steve Kelley | UW football is "a sleeping giant" and Nick Holt plans to inject adrenaline
- In court, nightclub shooting suspect regained right to gun
- 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
- Tax cuts a big part of Obama's $775B plan
- Chew on this: We'll soon be able to grow replacement teeth
- Federal racketeering trial begins for Washington Hells Angels
- Israeli forces bisect Gaza, surround biggest city
513 - Holt's contract released --- he's making a lot
281 - 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
152 - 2009 starts...slowly
90 - A few more Holt notes
68 - UW football is "a sleeping giant" and Nick Holt plans to inject adrenaline
53 - Budget deficit looms largest
47 - Donatell to USC? More Wednesday morning links
45 - Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
44 - Tuesday night wrapup
44
- 11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks
- Chew on this: We'll soon be able to grow replacement teeth
- Happy Hour | A taste of Hawaii on Queen Anne at Genki Sushi
- Homemade version of Buffalo Chicken Wings saves on calories, not on taste
- Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
- Eating certain foods together helps with nutrient absorption
- Mystery solved: Gov. Gregoire visiting troops in Iraq
- Change your life in 2009 with these 52 tips
- Steve Kelley | UW football is "a sleeping giant" and Nick Holt plans to inject adrenaline
- Washington state employee hiring freeze lifted













