squire 2

Work is under way to refurbish the former Village Squire Motel, a blighted property in downtown Redmond closed for more than a year.

Watson Development is leading the project and Simplicity Homes, an imprint of Redmond-based Hayden Homes, will turn the former motel located at 629 SW 5th into 25 units of rental housing. The old motel is currently draped in plastic and the property is surrounded by a fence as work begins in earnest.

Deb Flagan, vice president of community engagement for Hayden Homes, said the company spent more than a month assessing the economic feasibility of the project. They decided to move ahead, though plenty of details still need to be worked out.

“We are currently in demolition and the architecture drawings are being completed right now,” Flagan told the Spokesman. “We are working with the city on the affordability components for what the rents will be for the units at this location once it is complete.”

The companies behind the project will host an open house at the motel from 9-10:30 a.m on April 11.

The building was formerly owned by Village Apartments RDM, a company owned by local businessmen Haseeb Shojai and Masoud Aria.