Here’s the dirt : 701 W. 14th going condo

Two partners are converting an aging apartment building on the South Hill into seven upscale condominiums. Mike Richey, 55, envisions renovating the 85-year-old building, 701 W. 14th Ave., into homes that would attract people from out of town while retaining the four-story structure’s Arts and Crafts look. The condos will range in size from about 1,000 square feet to a 2,516-square-foot, top-floor penthouse with private elevator access, large skylights and a view west.

“The idea is to have something that looks old but is completely brand-new,” said Richey, a former software programmer.

Richey expects the roughly $800,000 building renovation, which will leave condos unfinished for buyers, to be completed by June. He and a silent partner are funding the project.

RS Properties LLC, of Spokane, owns the 12,000-square-foot structure, which was purchased for about $395,000 in August 2006, according to county property records.

Workers have blasted into rock on its ground level to install a concrete elevator shaft that will help stabilize the building. The brick exterior will be sprayed with PermaCrete to create a stucco look with brick accents, he said. Richey also wants to incorporate “green” elements, using radiant heating and extra insulation.

The structure originally was designed as residences for doctors, Richey said.

Six carriage house-style, slate-roofed garages behind the property, including one Richey uses as an office, are under construction. Down adjacent, terraced steps, he plans to create a waterfall and pond with barbecue area.

Richey and a partner, both pilots, also remodeled a building at Felts Field into eight hangars for small planes. They hope to open that early next year, he said.

He hopes to form a contracting business specializing in PermaCrete application and other tasks out of the 14th Avenue project.

“I like getting dirty,” he said. “So it was buy a farm or build something.”

Starbucks, fitness center under way

Attention, caffeine junkies: A new drive-through Starbucks is destined for the South Hill — across the street from an Albertsons with a Starbucks stand inside.

The Starbucks at 37th Avenue and Grand Boulevard will be adjacent to a new 24-hour Snap Fitness, forming “The Grand Junction,” said Al Payne, owner of Payne Properties and Development. The coffee shop is expected to open in late February or early March, a Starbucks Coffee Co. representative said.

The 3,100-square-foot fitness center should move in early next month, Payne said.

The projects will cost about $1.1 million, excluding tenant improvements, he said.

While some people are concerned about traffic generated by Starbucks, Payne said he’s met with a neighborhood group.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job solving the flow (of traffic), so the impact, I don’t think it will be that noticeable,” he said.

Chanhassen, Minn.-based Snap Fitness had 423 clubs open in 2006. Trade publication Franchise Market Magazine in October ranked it the year’s No. 1 new franchise chain, the company says. Franchises cost $15,000, but a total investment can range from $62,000 to $232,000.

The South Hill location will offer tanning, a massage room, a cardio center and weights, according to www.snapfitness.com/southhill Franchisee Jeff Spencer also runs a Pullman location, Payne said.

Other Spokane-area locations are “coming soon,” and one is open in Coeur d’Alene, according to Snap Fitness’s Web site.

“A typical 2,400-square-foot facility features the same quality equipment as larger, fancier clubs, but in a smaller, non-intimidating setting and at a fraction of the price,” according to a company news release. “The company also is a pace-setter in promoting member-friendly policies: it does not require contracts and allows memberships to be frozen for up to three months a year with no penalty.”

Payne said the company is looking at unspecified further development on land it leases on the block, which could replace leased houses.

CdA development names builder

Hayden-based Rosenberger Construction LLC will build 28 single-family homes during the first phase of the Meadow Ranch development in Coeur d’Alene, developer ActiveWest Development recently announced.

The roughly $32 million development, near U.S. Highway 95 and West Kathleen Avenue, for “active adult” residents 55 and older will shoot for U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification for its development, condominium clubhouse buildings and homes — meaning they will incorporate energy-efficiency and sustainability measures. But future buyers shouldn’t take a hit to their pocketbooks, said Sharon Cunningham, ActiveWest’s director of sales and marketing.

The first single-family units should be available in late spring, Cunningham said. The 13-acre development is slated to include about 200 homes, including those in two condominium buildings, still in the planning phase, and townhouse-style duplexes, she said.

The development will be built around a weathered barn, a local landmark that crews moved this summer.