City Club Unveils Plan For Garage Critics Contend Structure Would Block View Of River

FOR THE RECORD: 2-6-98 Group misidentified: A story in Tuesday’s business section incorrectly listed the group that is meeting Feb. 14 with representatives of the Spokane Club. The meeting is with the Peaceful Valley Steering Committee.

The Spokane Club is planning to build a four-story parking garage on a bluff overlooking the Spokane River.

The proposed 44-foot-high garage would give the private social club’s 3,200 members an additional 103 parking spaces north of Main Street, just west of the club’s gym. The garage also would include a level of underground parking.

If the required permits are approved, the club will break ground on the privately financed $2.25 million project this spring, with completion scheduled by yearend.

“Spokane Club members, nearby businesses and area residents have been plagued by traffic congestion caused by inadequate parking in and around the club,” said Gordon Budke, club president. “The structure will go a long way in reducing traffic congestion and parking shortage.”

The club currently owns 69 parking spaces and leases an additional 43 spaces in a parking lot on Riverside Avenue. The additional 103 spaces would bring the total to 215, which Budke said would adequately address the parking problem.

Because the proposed structure would be built within 200 feet of the Spokane River, it must comply with the city’s Shoreline Master Program.

Though the project is early in the permitting stage, opponents have surfaced, saying the proposed structure will block their view of the falls, block views of the Masonic Temple, an historic building, and devalue their property.

“We feel all these things need to be considered. We also feel the Spokane Club hasn’t reviewed its options,” said Bob Ogden, president of North Coast Life Insurance Co. Ogden said views of the river, from his building at 1116 W. Riverside, would be blocked by the new parking garage.

“It’s a terrible precedent to set, to allow something like this to be built on the river bank,” Ogden said.

Ogden, who is also a member of the Spokane Club, wondered why the club members couldn’t use the nearby River Park Square parking garage or the Masonic Temple’s parking lot, both of which are within a few blocks of the club.

“That satisfies everyone except our members,” Budke responded. “They want to be closer to the club than down the street or down the block.”

The Spokane Club is conducting an extensive public relations campaign to explain the project to the public. The club has hired a public relations firm and has created a 12-minute video to explain its decision to build the parking garage. The club will hold an open house today from 4 to 6:30 p.m. and will talk to the Peaceful Valley Neighborhood Association on Feb. 14.

, DataTimes