Spokane/ CDA development discussions - Page 16

chepe · #**301** Posted **Sep 13, 2006, 9:55 PM**

I could certainly be wrong but as I look at them today, it looks like they might be small windows. You're right though, a window at knee height doesn't make much sense. I suppose we'll know for sure in a week or so.

Hub for an Empire · #**302** Posted **Sep 14, 2006, 1:52 AM**

Any word yet on when construction of the first buildings start at Kendall Yards? It will be nice to see some construction there!

RemiO · #**303** Posted **Sep 14, 2006, 2:50 AM**

The West Central neighbors are still having issues with the plans for it. In other words, the KY doesn't have the permits needed to start building.

revrw · #**304** Posted **Sep 14, 2006, 4:24 AM**

There should be a ruling on the submitted plans from the Kendall Yards next week. Since the city postponed there ruling, they said it would take a couple weeks to make a decision, and that was about a couple of weeks ago. Should hear something anyday now. I believe once approval is granted, they want to start A.S.A.P.

RemiO · #**305** Posted **Sep 14, 2006, 2:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by chepe

I could certainly be wrong but as I look at them today, it looks like they might be small windows. You're right though, a window at knee height doesn't make much sense. I suppose we'll know for sure in a week or so.

Passing the building on 1st today, it looked like they were putting in vents or AC units.

Dazzeetrader · #**306** Posted **Sep 15, 2006, 1:09 AM**

In my first posting, I must use the word "eyesore" when it comes to Walt and Karen Worthy's new highrise. As I drove by on the weekend, I actually thought I saw someone trying to fit an airconditioning box into one of those small spaces under the windows. Yuck!
No windows on the West side on the building. And the building is just a box and it looks like they tried to match it to the Davenport's Parking Structure.
Among the worst looking structures I've even seen. They should be ashamed. Dazzee

Hub for an Empire · #**307** Posted **Sep 15, 2006, 1:27 AM**

^^^^ I didn't read the article yet,,,but will glance at it now in the Journal of Business about the Worthy's building their own furniture for the 21- Story (19 above ground apparently) tower! They are making 1,902 pieces of furniture and 1,904 drawer faces for the 320 room hotel!

Does the furniture in the Flintstone's cartoon come to mind for some people?

Walt stated he didn't find furniture to meet his expectations! So they are going to build it. ......The finish painting involves glazing with shades of brown with a little red and black to give it a textured look. The paint is meant to complement the safari theme!

Anyone want to swing from the new tower to the original Davenport Hotel for a Tropical drink?

Glad to see Famous Dave's BBQ is looking at sites in the Spokane Metro area!

urbanlife · #**308** Posted **Sep 15, 2006, 1:53 AM**

safari spokane........do I really need to say more than that, honestly?

chepe · #**309** Posted **Sep 15, 2006, 10:19 PM**

Looks like my optimism got the best of me on the window idea mentioned above. The small openings are for HVAC units. Looked like windows for a minute as they were framing in the openings. I also read the JOB article about Worthy's company making all the furniture for the rooms.

What is interesting is that the website for the Davenport talks about how the rooms have hand carved mahogany furniture etc. From the mock up of the new tower room all the furniture looks built in and certainly not made of mahogany. I just really wonder how the new rooms will stack up to the rooms in the original (other than having what look to be better TVs).

Hub for an Empire · #**310** Posted **Sep 18, 2006, 12:23 AM**

I was downtown today. Looks like the Penthouse level on the Davenport Tower varies from the original rendering that was published in the Journal of Business? In that rendering, the penthouse level was only a partial floor with more glass and a balcony around it. What I saw today, was on the 19th floor, openings for windows on the west side. Not sure if this was a budget cutting action? I take it now, the top level will be just like the other floors? I was hoping something different for the top floor, to make something unique for at least the top floor? I know some people expressed they thought there should be some windows on the east and west sides, but to me, it looks funny to have no windows on the 1st to 18th floors of the west side, and then to have these funny window openings on the 19th floor, IMO.

Any opinions on this from anyone?

chepe · #**311** Posted **Sep 18, 2006, 8:35 PM**

You're right about the change from the rendering. The rendering clearly showed a glassed in type of top floor with what looked to be a significant amount of balcony space. As it is now, the top floor looks like it is going to be similar to the floors below but with more windows. Also, the top floor pre-fab panels do not have the windows already inserted as do the floors below.

Another thing I'm curious about is the layout of the rooms. I watched as they built most of this tower but unless they reshape the interior significantly all the rooms (except the top floor) look like they are the same size. I was wondering how this will work for the suites, etc. The current layout looks like six rooms on the north and six rooms on the south facing sides of the building with a hallway running east-west. The interior walls all looked to be placed in the same location for each floor. Unless the suites are at either end of the east west hallway (so the hallway doesn't have to cut the room in half) I don't see how there will be a square footage difference in any of the rooms.

Trebor of Spokane · #**312** Posted **Sep 19, 2006, 2:05 PM**

[quote=ghost22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trebor of Spokane

In this picture you will notice that on either side of the elevator are wood doors with numbers on them. on the 2nd floor above ground there is the number 4 and on the 3rd floor above ground ther is the number 5. Today they finishes number 8 or the sixth floor above ground. So, though the Davenport web site says 21 floors, only 19 of them will be above ground. Floors above level 2 seem to be only about 9 foot high. My best guess is this building only comes in at 200 ft, maybe 210. The Metroplitan Finacial Center is listed on Emporis at 243 feet and the Bank of America building at 288 ft. This building will be no were close to being Spokanes tallest, not even the 3rd tallest (paulsen 221 and us bank 217)

^ posted on pg 9.

today driving on the freeway i noticed that the building looked to be the third tallest. i dont think it is going to get much higher than today but it is defenitely taller than paulsen now.

I should have sticked to my initial assesment about the height. the official height keeps is below being the third tallest.

From todays Spokesman Review:
Davenport tower nearly at final height

September 19, 2006
Construction crews working on the Davenport Hotel Tower in downtown Spokane say the 21-story building will "top out" this week, meaning all the major structural components of the precast concrete building will be in place.
"I've heard this is the tallest precast building west of the Mississippi," said Joe Stewart, who is coordinating the installation work for Central Pre-Mix. "It's been a challenge just figuring out how to do it. It's staged for each elevation as we've gone up."
Stewart said he's using a crane with a 300-ton capacity to build the 210-foot high structure and the biggest piece of pre-cast concrete they've installed was 120,000 pounds. "The ones we're setting today are 17-by-28 feet," he said.
After the crews finish with the main building, they will immediately switch to the five-story parking garage behind the hotel tower, Stewart said.
The new hotel will offer 319 rooms, 6,000 square feet of meeting space and a new restaurant and bar. Davenport Hotel owner Walt Worthy has said in the past that the tower should be open by January

chepe · #**313** Posted **Sep 21, 2006, 6:42 PM**

Story and video clip regarding the Davenport Tower topping out today. The Davenport reps state that the new tower will have its own personality and independent existence from the original Davenport. Sounds like they are already trying to keep them as separate as possible except for the name. I'm thinking the rates at the new tower will be lower by a fair margin than those in the original tower.

http://www.kxly.com/news/index.php?s...&story_id=4959

RemiO · #**314** Posted **Sep 21, 2006, 8:09 PM**

The Rookery is going down, but the lot will be up for sale. Fingers crossed something good will happen there. From http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools...pf.asp?ID=7445

Demolition of Rookery to begin in the next two weeks

From staff reports
September 21, 2006

Demolition of the 72-year-old Rookery Building in downtown Spokane will begin within the next two weeks after crews finish removing asbestos, the property manager for owner Wendell Reugh said Thursday.

When the Rookery demolition begins, Steve Gill said, crews simultaneously will start removing asbestos from the 91-year-old Mohawk Building next door. The Mohawk also will be torn down after asbestos work is complete. Both buildings are on the block bounded by Riverside, Sprague, Howard and Stevens.

Gill said Reugh told the city of Spokane he’d offer the one-acre site for sale when demolition is complete. Local and out-of-town buyers have expressed interest, he said.

Historic preservationists worked for years trying to save both historic buildings from the wrecking ball, but numerous deals fell through. Potential buyers complained that Reugh placed too high a price on the property, but Reugh responded that the deals required him to carry too much of the financial burden.

The city of Spokane intervened last fall, going as far as offering to serve as an intermediary in a buy-and-sell agreement, but announced in June that it had exhausted efforts to save the buildings.

urbanlife · #**315** Posted **Sep 21, 2006, 8:23 PM**

what's the asking price? Plan on it being up for sale for a very long time.

RemiO · #**316** Posted **Sep 21, 2006, 9:41 PM**

I have this feeling he'll actually up the price. Everything works a bit differently in Reughland.

SPOKANITE · #**317** Posted **Sep 22, 2006, 12:43 AM**

Next stop: City Council.

Article here: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools...pf.asp?ID=7455

Hearing examiner OKs Kendall Yards

Alison Boggs
Staff writer
September 21, 2006

A residential and commercial project proposed for 80 acres just north of downtown Spokane took a huge step forward Thursday when the city of Spokane’s hearing examiner approved it.

Over the next 20 years, Kendall Yards will bring 2,600 residences and 1 million square feet of commercial space to the land poised above the north bank of the Spokane River. The project is proposed as an urban village, where everyone from college students to retirees will live in housing ranging from apartment buildings to town homes to upscale condominiums. Housing will be accompanied by shops, restaurants, and landmark plazas that will draw in the public and connect to the Centennial Trail.

“This is a great accomplishment for the community and I think it’s going to be a showcase development and provide innumerable benefits to the city,” said Tom Reese, project manager for Kendall Yards. “We’re very very pleased with what the hearing examiner came back with. It’s pretty much a straight across approval … as we had submitted it.”

Hearing Examiner Greg Smith somehow managed to walk an extremely fine line as both the development team and the project’s two most vocal critics applauded the decision. Though Smith denied an appeal of the environmental approval for the project, the appellants, John and Rachael Paschal Osborn, said they were happy with the decision.

“All of the concerns we raised were addressed in the conditions of the permit,” Paschal Osborn said. “We feel that the hearing examiner understood the issues that were being raised and put appropriate conditions on the project to address those concerns.”

Despite expressing approval, the Osborns said they are still mulling appealing the decision to the City Council, which must be done within 14 calendar days — by Oct. 5 at 4:30 p.m.

Hub for an Empire · #**318** Posted **Sep 22, 2006, 1:49 AM**

It will be nice to see Kendall Yards developing. Sad to hear about the Rookery Block...seems a loss, but that part of downtown needs some changes and soon.

Dazzeetrader · #**319** Posted **Sep 23, 2006, 5:55 PM**

Glad that rat infested Rookery Building is destroyed. I went by the new Tower today. Although many people are excited about it, it's still an eyesore IMO. Has Walt ever built a nice building? As Prium will testify, Rockpoint is falling apart. The Davenport was a rehab but he didn't build it. Nice rehab though. American West plaza is gorgeous but those type of buildings cost a lot. I hear some fabulous new buildings are on the way though. This City is gorgeous and deserves some classic architecture for it's skyline. Dazzee

urbanlife · #**320** Posted **Sep 24, 2006, 12:39 AM**

Dont expect any thing built on the Rookery block any time soon, unless the price tag for it drops to about 1.2 mil.....seeing that is all the land without the buildings is worth.