Desert Aire- In the beginning

During the spring of 1969, 3,200 acres of land which we now call Desert Aire went up for sale along the Columbia River in Eastern Washington. Harry and Ross Davidson of Harry Davidson Inc. found the land to be very appealing. After organizing a limited partnership and selling units to cover the down payment and the funds to develop the land, they bought the land for $1,000,000.

Because of the land's rich Native American history, construction wasn’t permitted to start immediately. Land planners and Naturalists had to spend months investigating the land. They studied the lake and the wildlife while chartering the wind patterns and the warmth of the sun. From this data they were able to create a plan that respected the total environment of the desert and preserved the natural balance between man and nature, and until this day one of Desert Aire’s most praised features is its respect for open space and natural values. Grant County approved of the Planned Unit Development putting a land lock on the property. In the spring of 1970 sales of home sites soon followed.

Desert Aire has come a long way from its barren beginnings in the 1970’s. It’s even been coined as “The Sweet Spot in the Desert” and “ The Palm Springs of Eastern Washington”. As of 2006 1648 home sites have been developed as well as a boat launch, park, camping grounds and private airstrip. Probably the most impressive of its features is Desert Aire’s 18-hole golf course. The golf course had begun from the development's beginning in 1970. Harry Davidson’s assembly while laying out Desert Aire completely developed the first nine holes with a promise for a back nine.

Not much else was done to the course until twenty-five years later; in 1990 property owners began to push for the Davidsons to fulfill their promise. Soon Architect Jim Krause was delegated to finish the back nine. Krause was sure much more mounding and trap work was done to the new nine, and the course was finally completed in 1992. In 2006 architect Dan Hixon was commissioned to look over the course and suggest improvements. He instead was very impressed and only suggested minor affordable changes.

After the first nine holes were completed in 1972, the Boat Basin was excavated as well as the community park and pond, and by 1975 the airstrip was scraped and the community pool was built.

The airstrip was first used by Harry Davidson to fly in likely clients from Seattle in his DC3. Years later, with a corroded runway, Grant County Airport District was formed by ballot in February of 1994. It has now became a public-use airport, eligible for public dollars for improvements and maintenance.

Finally in 2006 all the lots were sold and the Harry Davidson Inc. sales office of Desert Aire was officially sold. Since that time the community has seen a 20-30% increase in values. As of June of 2007 the new plan for the boat launch was approved and now in process of creating a new rock breakwater with picnic tables, two major docks, complete paved parking lot and new walking trail. Also as of June 2007 Grant County released its moratorium on zero lot line buildings in the commercial area of the development. What this means to the community is that the shopping center owners can now begin building more commercial infrastructure enhancing a wider variety of services to residents.

The future of Desert Aire looks promising! There will be only more increase in values to the properties. Desert Aire is locked between the lake, wineries and orchards and all the lots have been sold by the original developer. The current values have nowhere to go but up .We hope to see you soon in Desert Aire. We are happy to help you Schedule A Tour so you can see what Desert Aire has to offer you!