Spokane/ CDA development discussions

[sustainable]

Not sure if ykubnoticed the trader joes logos on the multi use building or not, but it is clearly visible in at least two photos. Obviously if they are developing a 12,500 sf grocery store it is tj's. They must be reasonably confident in the possibility of tjs if they are willing to spend the money on designs that would only work for trader joes.

Originally Posted by Trebor of Spokane

image by k_trebor69, on Flickr

image by k_trebor69, on Flickr

image by k_trebor69, on Flickr

image by k_trebor69, on Flickr

There is suppose to be a 3-4 story condominium building built at the Southwest corner of Summit Parkway and Elm. It could be this rendering:
image by k_trebor69, on Flickr

Found these in this web site:

http://www.shoesmithcox.com/on-the-b...ards-projects/

[FireFighter74]

I can't believe I didn't catch that earlier. I really do think it would be a great spot for a Trader Joe's, however I heard their next locations were going to be in the Northpoint area & in Coeur d'Alene. Maybe by saying north Spokane they meant north of the river which is technically north Spokane. I have a hard time believing Spokane Proper will/can support 3. Seattle Proper has ~5 stores with three times the population. I can see three stores in the metro area for sure, but... All that negativity aside, I really hope I'm wrong because that would put a Joe's only 8 blocks from my house and that would be rad-sauce. A whole Foods or even a Huckleberry's would be nice too. Either way, it needs to be a multistory structure. No more Spokane 1 story jobs.

[revrw]

Yeah, but I see design firms do that all the time where they put the name of businesses on their mock ups and nothing comes of it. I would love to see if happen, but like FireFighter said, what I have heard is Northpoint, then CDA. TJ's seems to have a fairly lengthy approval process, so we will see. But I agree with everyone else on this, It needs to be multi-level.

Im really surprised that there has not been any news on the surface parking lots fronting Spokane Falls Blvd across from the Park. I thought with the Hotel development, that at least one or maybe even both of those lots would be prime as mixed-use towers. With interest rates so low, now is the time to build even if you can't fill out the towers right away.

[sustainable]

Agreed that at this point they may used the tjs signage only for marketing purposes. My bigger question is that if they are not designing specifically for trader joes than they are going to be in tough shape as there aren't any other grocers in the pacific northwest that have stores that small.

[Trebor of Spokane]

Originally Posted by sustainable

Agreed that at this point they may used the tjs signage only for marketing purposes. My bigger question is that if they are not designing specifically for trader joes than they are going to be in tough shape as there aren't any other grocers in the pacific northwest that have stores that small.

If the space is not for a Trader Joe's does in have to be a chain grocer. Could it succeed if it was an independent, or does it need to be a chain to draw enough people.

Here is another image I found doing a Google image search, but I did not see on the website.

Mixed-Use-7 by k_trebor69, on Flickr

[Trebor of Spokane]

The east stairwell reached it maximum height today. I think the elevator shaft in the middle between the two wings will be slightly though.


20141029_171610 (2) by k_trebor69, on Flickr

20141029_171700 (2) by k_trebor69, on Flickr

[FireFighter74]

Glad its not a parking lot anymore, but my god its an ugly building. Wish they would have done the brick version

[FireFighter74]

They are getting ready to pour the footings!

[FireFighter74]

[sustainable]

For what it's worth I found out definitively that it is not Trader Joe's. Looks like it will be a smaller, local grocer. I'm not even sure exactly what that means yet, if it's going to be a Rocket Market or something, more likely a small Rosauers or Yokes or something.

Kind of disappointing in my opinion. I still would have liked to see Whole Foods on that corner to be honest. Would have been sweet to see a 40,000 sf grocer on the bottom with full service and apartments up above in the configuration that they are showing.

With that said it looks like that multi-use building that they are showing on Summit and Monroe would be a great building to anchor that corner.

[FireFighter74]

Before...



Later...





Now...

[selkirks]

I really hope those renderings for the Monroe/Summit corner are just tentative. That is a LOT of surface parking for what's supposed to be an "urban" neighborhood. I remember that Greenstone was talking with the County about building a joint parking garage for the courthouse and the urban district. What happened to that? The district needs more density in order to thrive, not less. Any prospective condo owner would certainly prefer structured parking as well, because it's more secure.

Also, let's remember what the original vision for Kendall Yards, which no one thought was incredibly ridiculous at the time, looked like. I'm not trying to be a downer here, but Greenstone could certainly be dreaming a bit bigger here. It's clear that there is still a huge pent-up demand for something like this in Spokane.

[FireFighter74]

We're never going to see anything like that in Spokane, Ever! Spokane high density is 3 story apartments. I love Kendall Yards, but like you said, it current version is peanuts compared to the first rendering. Putting apartment buildings in the Yards is killing me. It's too Spokane to handle. Ive seen a recent rendering that shows more apartments on College St. west of the regional heath building. Why???

[revrw]

Originally Posted by FireFighter74

We're never going to see anything like that in Spokane, Ever! Spokane high density is 3 story apartments. I love Kendall Yards, but like you said, it current version is peanuts compared to the first rendering. Putting apartment buildings in the Yards is killing me. It's too Spokane to handle. Ive seen a recent rendering that shows more apartments on College St. west of the regional heath building. Why???

The construction of apartments doesn't bother me as much as if the quality were poor! The two things the are a must in my eyes are: quality and density. Less condos may also reflect the sentiment of the 20-30 something buyer/renter. We're much less likely to commit to buying, plus some of our jobs are way more mobile and career advancement requires us to be prepared to move more often than in the past.

Plus....senergy can be reached faster with apartments cause people will occupy them faster and that will allow the retail/food services to establish themselves in the yard....then I believe we will see the condo projects turn up around there......I can only hope :-)

[selkirks]

Tallest Spokane high-rise in works
Developer wants 35-story project near college district
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...rise-in-works/

by Mike Prager, Spokesman-Review 7 November 2014

A Spokane Valley dentist and developer wants to build a 35-story downtown high-rise on the southeast corner of Division Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard. Dr. Phillip Rudy said he has been in contact with owners of the several properties needed for the project. His vision would be a $50 million building towering over every building in Spokane.

The tallest building now is downtown’s 20-story Bank of America Financial Center at 601 W. Riverside Ave. with a height of 288 feet. Rudy said the building would be mixed use, offering retail and housing, possibly for college students at the nearby WSU Spokane or Gonzaga campuses. Building records from Spokane City Hall show that the property is large enough to hold such a building, which would include parking both above and below ground.

Rudy has never undertaken such an ambitious project.

He said the owner of the properties needed to build, Robert Sterling, of Spokane, agreed to allow him to take his proposal to City Hall so he could meet with building services officials to learn about the feasibility of his proposal. The property involves 49,000 square feet of prime land sandwiched between a growing section of downtown near the Spokane Convention Center and the University District to the east.

Rudy said he has been looking for some time for a property to develop. He would possibly occupy one of the residential units. The parcels he is proposing to purchase are vacant and unoccupied. The largest of the four at Division and Spokane Falls is the site of a former muffler repair shop. It holds a vacant building that dates to 1978. The lot is 21,000 square feet.

“It’s really a cool piece of property,” Rudy said.

The project, however, would hinge on Rudy attracting fellow investors, he said. Rudy met with officials from various city departments and the regional health district on Oct. 4 in what is known as a pre-development conference. Such conferences are commonly held for project developers so they can learn about the possibilities and limitations under city building, fire and safety codes, as well as health regulations. The considerations are extensive and include such things as landscaping, utilities, emergency power and signage.

Rudy said he would take advantage of building standards that allow for what’s known as bonus density, which could take the height up to 35 stories. Lower floors would be 41,470 square feet each, while upper floors would be 15,120 square feet each. An environmental review would be required, city officials said in the pre-development conference notes.

[FireFighter74]

We can all pray this project becomes a reality.

[Hub for an Empire]

Let's hope if the 35 story building is built , it will have good architectural design with quality materials to compliment Spokane's historical skyline! The last two high rises built sure lacks that! This can be said of Kendall Yards, it falls short of the Summit project renderings from the Metropolitian project proposed in the late 80's and 90's! Let's aim for quality projects if we build them in Spokane!

[selkirks]

The project is being called the "Muffler Lot" Development in the City's planning/permitting database, and it's listed as a 35-story mixed-use building with office, residential, retail, and restaurant uses. The address is 230 N Division.

It's record B14M0087PDEV on the Citizen Access permitting website. As far as I can tell, the application looks just as credible as any I've seen. I don't think the project will end up being 35 stories, but I do think it's clear that this could be a major project.

[seattlefoo1]

Good article on the convention center expansion in the spokesman today:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...er-on-time-on/

[FireFighter74]

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2...-open-spokane/