SPOKANE -- The long dormant Kendall Yards project, a victim of the economic downturn, is getting resurrected by a new developer. Thursday, local home builder Greenstone announced it has acquired the Kendall Yards property from developer Marshall Chesrown.

"The Kendall Yards property represents a unique opportunity to spur economic development and establish a pedestrian-friendly connection between downtown Spokane and the West Central neighborhood," Jason Wheaton, president of Greenstone Corporation, said in a statement announcing the sale Thursday morning.

Back in 2005 Chesrown bought the 78-acre tract of land at an auction sale for Metropolitan Mortgage. His vision for the land was heralded as the biggest thing to happen to downtown Spokane since Expo '74. His concept was to build an urban village complete with 1,000 residential units, new streets, plazas, retail shopping and an extension of the Centennial Trail.

The developer estimated that the project would pump about $300 Million into the local economy in 2006 when Spokane's hearings examiner gave the green light to the development. City officials say that Chesrown spent millions conducting traffic studies, putting in underground power lines and cleaning up the property but was several steps away from getting any building permits.

All development at Kendall Yards came to a halt with the economic downturn which hit Chesrown's company hard. His Black Rock North development in North Idaho was slapped with lawsuits and foreclosure when private investor funds for the development dried up. One lawsuit claimed Chesrown owed $15 Million on the project, and there were claims against his company of $3 Million in unpaid bills to sub-contractors who worked on Black Rock North but were never paid.

Then the project was brought back from the brink when Greenstone owner Jim Frank came in with a plan to jumpstart development in Kendall Yards. Greenstone has acquired the land and while there are no official design plans as of yet they envision a smaller version of what Chesrown's Black Rock team planned to do with the property.

Neighborhood leaders in West Central have been working with Greenstone for several months and they're pleased with the new plans for the area.

"It's not pie in the sky it's reality based development that fits in with the fabric of the neighborhood," Brenda Corbett, chairwoman of the West Central Neighborhood Council said. "That's always good so it's not the end all fix all do all. We have a lot of issues to work with them on and we're going to and we're going to partner and work through them."

The resurrection of the project will bring new life to the land that sits along the banks of the Spokane River which has sat dormant since a railroad yard was removed from the land in the 1950s.

Washington Trust Bank is providing the financing for the deal, which includes Greenstone restructuring approximately $20 Million in debt as part of its acquisition agreement with Black Rock.

Calls to Greenstone over the last several months for comment on this story have not been returned. Calls to Scott Chesrown and Black Rock for comment were not returned either.

Related Coverage:

November 12, 2009: The Inlander: "Rekindling Kendall"

April 7, 2009: Fate of Kendall Yards comes under question

May 17, 2007: Developers break ground at Kendall Yards

May 17, 2007: Neighbors will 'wait and see' about Kendall Yards

September 21, 2006: Kendall Yards gets city approval

March 28, 2006: Kendall Yard cleanup complete