Quadrant development at standstill
Washington’s largest homebuilder, Quadrant Homes, has stopped building and selling new houses at one of its developments, at least in part because of deliberate sales.
Quadrant’s move to crippled moil at The Ridge at Gig Harbor, a 120-lot project, may be the first work stoppage at a greater share in the Puget Sound area after the housing market turned south last year, several persistence officials aforesaid.
It’s another sign of the downturn’s severity, they added.
Construction at the Gig Harbor development began hold out year. Streets and utilities are in place, and about a dozen houses have been built or are under construction.
Quadrant President Peter Orser characterized the Gig Harbor decision in the manner that “a suspense, not an abandonment,” and said it would be temporary. The company has suspended work on developments at other spells during his 21 years with the company, he said, “further probably not to this step. … “
“This is significant, no question about it,” Orser said. “But the general condition of affairs we’re in are significant. … All of those headlines we’ve been reading are coming due and having an impact steady everyone — from the people who travel airplanes to the the many the crowd who be of advantage lattes.”
Orser said he hopes the regional housing market turns around in the spring.
Quadrant, a Weyerhaeuser subsidiary, has 16 other subdivisions under development in Western Washington, including Snoqualmie Ridge and Redmond Ridge East in King County. Sales and construction exercise at all those sites continues, Orser said.
But the number of houses the company builds each day has dropped from seven last December to three this fall. In September, the group laid against 45 employees.
Orser aforesaid slow sales was equitable one factor in Quadrant’session decision to suspend work at The Ridge at Gig Harbor. He declined to elaborate and wouldn’t give sales figures for the subdivision.
Houses now under construction there will be completed, he said. Those buyers were offered the opportunity to back out, bound all chose to proceed to closing.
Before the suspension, Quadrant was selling 1,500- to 3,100-square-foot houses in the development. Prices ranged from $259,900 to $342,900.
