Downtown Spokane auto dealer begins construction on Honda block

The final phase of a revamped downtown Spokane Larry H. Miller auto campus is underway, as the Salt Lake City-based dealer broke ground this week for its city block-size Honda showroom and parking lot.

Bounded by Second and Third avenues and Jefferson and Adams streets, the city block has been scraped clean for a number of months. On Monday, work crews showed up. Construction is expected to last eight months, according to Sara Waldman, a company spokeswoman.

Plans show a 40,700-square-foot building on the northwest corner of the parcel taking up about a quarter of the block. The remainder will be a show lot and used for parking.

When complete, the dealer will relinquish a city street its obstructed since September 2013. For about two years, the company blocked traffic on Madison between Third and Freeway Avenue North and used the space for employee parking. More than two years ago, the company erected a temporary, tent-like structure to house part of its Honda operations. The tent will come down when construction is complete, Waldman said.

The final campus will be much different than originally envisioned. What began as a plan for a sprawling six-block campus with tree-lined pedestrian boulevards in place of streets has shrunk to the dealership’s original footprint. Plans to permanently close sections of Madison were rejected by the Spokane City Council in late 2015 following stiff opposition from neighboring businesses.

According to city records, the company paid the city more than $26,000 to build the Honda addition, including $10,355 for a plan review and nearly $16,000 in permit fees.