Meet the Bella Terra Team




"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."
Aristotle, Greek philosopher, 384 BC – 322 BC

Years of careful planning have gone into creating a masterpiece on Spokane's South Hill.

A team of top professionals, "doing some of their best work" has put together a planned community of beautiful townhomes, grounds, gardens and water features.

Principal & Project Developer: Roger P. Fruci, CPA, CFP

Roger began with a strong vision for a community that would offer a way to experience nature within the city, reduce urban sprawl and provide a lifestyle not currently available in Spokane. He patiently accumulated the land to create Bella Terra and then assembled a team of top professionals -- working closely with them to create a spectacular development bringing this vision to life.

As a life-long Spokane resident, Roger is dedicated to enhancing our community and fulfilling a largely unmet need for contemporary urban living in a natural setting. For Roger, the quality of living at Bella Terra is just as important as the value of your investment in a high quality home. He is dedicated to ensuring that Bella Terra provides beautiful and functional homes, in a setting that offers a healing and rejuvenating atmosphere.

Roger explains his approach to creating Bella Terra. "We live in a culture that far too often cuts corners, where quality is compromised, and where design choices are made using cookie cutter approaches without real concern for lasting and fundamental quality. In designing Bella Terra, a fundamental goal at each level of design was to approach the design or quality choices as if a good friend or family was going to be living there. The intent is that each townhome reflects a high level of functional and aesthetic design, with attention to small details, providing enjoyment for years to come."

"My central desire from day one has been to create a development with a healing atmosphere, where one can relax, re-focus, re-energize, and pursue their activities and relationships with a more centered and clear state of mind."

Roger has spent decades working with financial analysis and business management, as well as projects in commercial and residential real estate development. As a CPA and a Certified Financial Planner, he has completed a rigorous financial analysis of every aspect to make sure that Bella Terra is a sound long-term investment for the homeowners, with increasing desirability and value. His three decades with the accounting firm Fruci & Associates, founded in 1938, provides a strong foundation for creating a development as solid as the reputation of the Fruci name.

Roger founded Light & Nature, LLC, in 2006 to provide real estate development in harmony with nature. Bella Terra is a Light & Nature Community.

Architect: Kevin W. Jester, AIA

Kevin Jester has been designing distinguished custom single family and multi-family residential projects in the Inland Northwest during a career that spans more than 38 years. Kevin brings his passion for high quality design to each project.

He currently serves as President of Architects West, a multi-discipline regional professional design firm with a staff of 25 talented individuals including; architects, land planners, and landscape architects. The talent and experience of the individuals, as well as the integration of architecture, land planning and landscape services were reasons for selecting this firm for Bella Terra.

Kevin is a highly regarded design professional in the region. His career has focused on residential design. Some of his signature projects include:

  • Many gorgeous lakefront homes on Lake Coeur d'Alene
  • Luxury Lakeshore Lodge Condominiums at Arrow Point on Lake Coeur d’Alene (part of the Gozzer Ranch Club development)
  • Condos At Mill River, featuring waterfront community living just blocks from Coeur d’Alene’s downtown
  • Condominiums in Gondola Village at Silver Mountain Resort in Idaho
  • Homes at Black Rock Golf Club Properties at Lake Coeur d'Alene
  • Bishop White Seminary and housing at Gonzaga Campus

Kevin's extensive resume of housing projects showcases his ability to maximize both function and luxury. He is skilled at integrating homes and larger complexes with their surroundings, incorporating the latest materials and sustainability practices, and creating livable space in ways that enhance both daily living and entertaining.

Kevin describes Bella Terra as having "an open, progressive contemporary design – more of an urban feel" and he says, "Bella Terra represents some of my best work."

"One thing I had always hoped for in my career," says Kevin, "was to create an offering in Spokane that would be totally unique. Roger Fruci has provided me with the opportunity to do exactly that because of his vision and commitment to creating homes that have a unique integration with the land and garden."

"During the design process, every detail of the land and the topography was taken into consideration. The living spaces are loaded with daylight and spectacular views. There was great attention to designing the kitchen, bedroom/bathroom suites, spaces for entertaining, generous storage, and flexible options for differing needs."

"Our goal was to create homes that provided a very personal experience with the garden. I refer to Bella Terra as 'contemporary urban living in a natural setting'."

Kevin concludes, "I think Bella Terra is a home run! It's setting a very high standard in the current residential market."

Project Interior Designer: Nancy Croyle, NCIDQ

Nancy is a founding partner and principal of Design Source Inc., located in Spokane. Her passion for interior design over the past 30 years has culminated in her decision to work on select projects, such as Bella Terra, that focus on creativity and excellence.

The most compelling recommendation is hearing what a recent client has to say. Here’s what two of our Bella Terra residents shared after working with Nancy on their townhome interiors.

"Nancy is the very best at what she does — helping us select design elements that complemented our lifestyle, existing assets, and budget. She helped us select floors, cabinets, stone finishes, doors, wall colors, blinds, and more for our new townhouse. She has a remarkable intuitive sense for determining combinations of color, texture, and material.

Importantly, as we had to make numerous decisions from a distance, we very much appreciated Nancy’s extensive knowledge of local craftsmen and vendors, plus her ability to make on-site recommendations and arrangements. From design to execution, the entire experience was fun and stress-free thanks to Nancy!"

Mark and Carl

“My interactions with Nancy have been totally positive.

Her approach to designing is practical and down to earth, which I appreciate. Her knowledge of all the standard and optional selections at Bella Terra helped simplify the selection of interior finishes. The amount of decisions to be made can seem overwhelming, but Nancy helped to make it as easy as possible.

I look forward to working with her again to select furniture for my beautiful new Bella Terra condominium.”

Cindy

Nancy has experience on a wide range of project types but finds the residential sector the most challenging and personally satisfying. Her comprehensive experience and previous collaborations with Kevin Jester, project architect, made her the obvious choice for the Bella Terra team.

Nancy believes interior design is the blending of art and science, combined with the ability to reflect the personality and functional needs of each client. “The physical properties of interior space – shape, form, scale and building materials -- can evolve into beautiful artistic expressions when the appropriate color, texture and pattern are combined to create a living environment. Through the process, their house is transformed into a home.”

Her interiors team has an extensive portfolio of residential work encompassing the full scope of interior services including space planning, architectural detailing, kitchen and bath design, finish materials, lighting design and furnishings.

Nancy’s recent residential projects include:

  • Black Rock Estates/Coeur d’Alene – Lakefront Private Residences
  • The Ridge at Hangman/Spokane – Golf Course Private Residences
  • Rockwood Retirement Communities/Spokane – The Ridge Apartments and Common Areas, The Summit Condominiums and Forest Estate Private Residences
  • 940 North/Spokane – University Apartment Complex
  • Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club/Coeur d’Alene – Club House and Golf Course Private Residence
  • Spokane/Boise/Seattle/Coeur d’Alene – Private Residences and Condominiums

Landscape Architect: Jonathan Mueller, FASLA

Jonathan Mueller is a highly awarded landscape architect and recently served as national President of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

As a senior landscape architect with Landmark Landscape Architects, which he helped establish in 1984 as a division of Architects West, Jon has extensive experience in all facets of creating settings for residential developments -- ranging from a few units to over 1,100 units. He has also designed parks, trails and other environments which helped inspire and shape Bella Terra’s landscape.

"What sets Bella Terra apart," says Jon, "is Roger Fruci's absolute commitment to creating a residential living community that achieves a new standard for quality and a landscape that provides an amazingly beneficial impact on a person’s day-to-day life. He is charting a new course for residential living in Spokane."

"A key concept has been the integrated design approach where landscape architect and architect enter the process as equals. This has translated into a more holistic look at how structure and landscape setting work together to achieve project goals. The integration of the townhouses into the emerging garden landscape results in a natural setting that doesn’t read as an afterthought. Every aspect of the development works in concert with the whole to beneficially influence human health and well-being," says Jon.

"In shaping Bella Terra's landscape, we have attempted to make sure that each homeowner had visual access to the waterfalls and other water features, and we have constantly discussed how the water would influence the daily lives of the homeowners. We also focused on creating a dynamic landscape with varying elevations to provide screening and a desired level of intimacy for the homes."

"With Roger's commitment to achieving this vision, we were able to take time to assess the views that every single unit will have, including the units in future phases of Bella Terra. Homebuyers can be assured that the value of every home has been paramount to Roger, and the team. There was an emphasis on presenting the best option for all homes, not just a few."

Landscape Architect: Anne Hanenburg

Anne's landscape design philosophy focuses on the fundamental need of humans to be brought into contact with nature through thoughtful design of the landscape environment.

She brings the unique perspective gained during a 16-year career in health care before completing bachelors and masters degrees in landscape architecture and architecture; and beginning her decade-long career with SPVV Landscape Architects.

Anne was an early adapter of creating gardens as a healing environment. She was among the first group of landscape architects to attend a special program to earn health care certification from the Chicago Botanic Gardens. She is considered an expert in healing gardens, speaks nationally on this topic, and has been recognized with numerous awards.

Anne has used these principals in designing meditation gardens and memory gardens – all of which have provided concepts that influenced the vision of the Central Garden at Bella Terra.

"People tend to focus on the sense of sight when thinking of a garden, but there are so many sensory nuances -- the fragrances, the sounds of a gentle waterfall and the birds singing, the feel of the bark, the taste of edible plants."

"The bones of the landscape are the trees and shrubs. I select the trees for many different reasons. Some create interesting shapes in the snow, such as hemlocks, or have bark that is beautiful against the white of winter. Some trees are for bearing fruits and nuts. Others have berries for color and to attract birds. Evergreens provide winter color and help screen the residents from each other year-round."

"We have integrated principals of permaculture in Bella Terra's gardens, but have been careful to make it look ornamental while incorporating plants that provide food. We are grouping certain types of plants together for the benefit of the plants, with careful consideration given to soil profiles that support a healthy site and use less water."

The landscape will create beauty throughout the seasons – different shapes, colors, the movement of the branches or grasses when there is a breeze, the layers of fragrance, and the succulence of freshly picked fruits, vegetables and herbs.

The garden will also change with the rhythm of the day. For instance, water features will be on timers and will be turned down or off later in the evening when people will be getting ready to sleep.

"This has been such a collaborative design process with Roger, Kevin, Jon and I looking at view corridors, the building structure and how it sits on the site and how does it fit with the goals we are trying to achieve."

"This project is very unique and Roger has such a clear vision of what he wants to achieve. A phenomenal amount of thought and focus has gone into translating that vision into the actual design of the structures and garden. There are more differences than similarities when comparing Bella Terra to the design and landscaping of typical residential communities. Since day one, the garden has been the driving factor in this project, and that's rarely the case when working on developments. He focuses on what people will experience when they interact with the garden."

General Contractor – Dave Andersen

The greatest ideas and plans come to nothing without great execution. To build great homes requires not only years of experience and deep knowledge, but also great attention to detail and a contractor who genuinely cares about his handiwork.

Gerry Copeland, who was one of Spokane's top residential architects and known for his beautiful, high-end architecture, built most of the homes he designed himself. As a result, he had an unusually good understanding of construction. Gerry once said that Dave "was the best contactor he had ever worked with."

Dave has been active in the construction industry for over 40 years. During this time Dave has managed both commercial and residential projects with a diversity of construction types including concrete, steel, heavy timber, and traditional light frame construction. Dave's years of experience bring a comprehensive knowledge of project management, scheduling, working with trades, and creative problem solving. Dave is highly intelligent, with an unusual combination of deep technical knowledge, great taste, and an intense focus on straightforward, practical solutions. He does not rush to quick answers but takes the time to consider the best solutions, respectful of the long term value of good design and detailing.

A few years ago, in the midst of a highly successful career, Dave decided that until he had an opportunity to create something of high quality that was truly interesting and innovative, he was not going to accept any more work.

Fortunately for us, Dave decided Bella Terra was just that type of opportunity. He agreed to take the reins and bring Bella Terra from design to completion. Not only will Dave build the residences, but he has spent hundreds of hours immersed in the details of the design, significantly influencing it from both the aesthetic and practical perspectives. His experience will add increased value to the Bella Terra homes.

Kevin Jester, president of Architects West and the architect for Bella Terra says, "I am delighted that Dave will lead the project management and construction effort. Dave's understanding of the comprehensive project will enhance the vision for structures and landscape. The execution of the creative design intent will be in good hands."

Light & Nature LLC

In 2006 Light & Nature, LLC was incorporated by Roger Fruci as part of the transition from his lifetime career as a CPA to a fulltime focus on real estate development. As evidenced by the name, from the beginning Roger had a clear focus on real estate development that involved a connection with, and design that was informed by, Nature. The terms Light & Nature can be understood from many perspectives, from the purely physical to the metaphysical, and it is that full spectrum of considerations that has informed the design of Bella Terra, which is a Light & Nature development.

To contact us for more information about Bella Terra, click here.