Blueprints Indicate Mall Is Getting Closer To Reality Plan Identifies Anchor Tenants
The developer of the proposed Spokane Valley Mall has submitted architectural plans for the project to the Valley Fire District for preliminary inspection.
Fire Marshal Paul Chase said JP Realty of Salt Lake City asked the fire district’s inspection department to review the drawings. Checks of water availability and fire hydrant access found no major problems, Chase said.
The blueprints have not been filed for final approval, Chase said. But while the review was preliminary, he said, the drawings weren’t.
“They weren’t just preliminary sketches, but serious plans,” Chase said. “They’ve put some money into it. It’s beyond the pipedream stage.”
The pre-construction review is a sign JP Realty may soon file plans with the county for actual approval - a move that implies the developer has real plans to begin construction. The proposed mall would stand on an 82-acre site on Sullivan Road, just north of Interstate 90.
Chase said the document showed spaces for four anchor tenants, and identified three of them as Sears, The Bon Marche and J.C. Penney. Sears and The Bon have announced they will open in the mall. J.C. Penney has stated a strong interest in the project, but has never said it will definitely open there. JCP Realty, the real estate arm of J.C. Penney, owns a 25 percent interest in the mall project.
David Hoffman of Law/Kingdon, a commercial architectural firm in Wichita, Kansas, drew the plans. Hoffman said he couldn’t talk about how far along the mall project was. He referred all questions to the mall project director, Terry Bybe of JP Realty. Bybe could not be reached for comment, but the company has previously announced the mall will open in August 1997.
Dave Carlsen, the real estate director for Hanson Industries, said the pre-approval stage doesn’t necessarily mean the mall will become an immediate reality, but that it’s the next logical step in that direction.
“It certainly means they are pursuing the real things to get the real mall done,” Carlsen said.
Tenants and insurance companies will often ask that developers have such reviews done, Carlsen said. “It’s sort of a typical thing that you would have to do along the way, just to get all your ducks in a row.”
Hanson was at one time developing its adjacent Sullivan Park Center - a retail, business, and industrial park - on the same timeline as the mall. JP Realty purchased the land for the mall from the company. Hanson is also building the five-lane extension of Indiana Avenue that will service both developments.
, DataTimes