A lot has happened in the past three years.

The country has undergone a terrorist assault and a war. The stock market has gone south, Boeing has gone to the Midwest and the federal budget has gone into the red.

One thing that hasn’t happened, though, is work on the Meridian, a condominium-plus-something sited on the north side of Knechtel Drive, west of Ericksen Avenue.

“We’ve had terrorist attacks, a war, and my hair has turned white in the last three years, but now we’re ready to go,” said Bruce McCurdy, CEO of Malibu Development Corporation, which is building the project.

According to McCurdy, the turmoil in the world and the inactivity on the Meridian weren’t coincidental, but more a matter of cause and effect. Changes in market conditions led to new investors, which led to changes in the project.

That is what spiked the original concept of a health-based development with a clinic on the ground floor.

“We were working then with a firm that develops health-care facilities,” McCurdy said. “But that fell by the wayside because of funding. Harrison Hospital couldn’t make it work, and Virginia Mason had no interest in a second clinic on Bainbridge.”

In place of the medical emphasis, the new concept is high-service. The hotel-like lobby will have a concierge, who will not only provide security, but will provide extras to the residents, from ticket-buying to arranging meal service and cleaning.

“We’re going to keep the homeowner dues competitive with other projects in the market,” McCurdy said, “but for an extra charge, the concierge will be available to do whatever there is time to do.”

Building security and the availability of somebody to water the plants and take in the mail are seen as major attractions to people who want to travel, and perhaps especially to those who want to get off the island for extended periods of time in the winter months.

“It will be quite a calling card for the people who want to be here for the nice-weather months,” said Nancy Ferrell, who will handle marketing.

The lobby and several small retail shops will be on the ground floor, as will much of the parking.

The second and third floors will each have eight residences ranging from 1,360 to 1,730 square feet, all with outdoor decks, some almost 600 square feet. The second-floor condos will have nine-foot ceilings and covered decks, while the third-floor units will have vaulted ceilings and open decks.

“Our marketing studies showed that there is a demand for one-level living,” said Malibu president John Erickson. “And we wanted to make these bright – when you open the door to most of them, you see the windows to the deck.”

The exterior of the building, designed by island architect Dennis Kirkpatrick, will be what McCurdy calls a “Northwest lodge” style with shingled siding.

The condos will each have two full baths, and some will have an additional powder room. All will have fireplaces and walk-in kitchen pantries, and four of the units will have a den or third bedroom.

Prices will range from $395,000 to $600,000. Seven of the units have been reserved, McCurdy said.

Plans call for the “Club Meridian” on the roof, which will include a spa, an exercise room, a combination library/lounge and a workout pool. McCurdy said there could also be a few offices on the roof for work-at-home residents.

Grading operations began a couple of years ago, but were shut down by the city pending further permitting. With that taken care of, earth-moving equipment has now smoothed what had been an unsightly hole in the ground into a building site. Construction is expected to last some 10 months, finishing up late next spring.

McCurdy, whose background is in hotel development, says he is comfortable with the new concept.

“This will be a luxury condominium development with a level of service like a hotel,” he said.