The Dirt: Remodeled, century-old Connell building in downtown sold
A 103-year-old apartment building near Lewis and Clark High School and at the base of hospital hill has sold for nearly $1.3 million.
The Connell Apartment building, 317 W. Fourth Ave., was leased as low-income housing in recent years but has undergone a “full remodel of all the rooms,” according to Nickie White, development officer for GVD Commercial Properties, which sold the building to an unnamed buyer.
According to county property records, GVD purchased the building in 2011 for $260,000 from Spokane Housing Ventures, which leased the building’s 23 units as affordable housing.
In recent years, GVD has made major investments in the west end of downtown. Jerry Dicker, principal owner of the company, purchased the former International Order of Odd Fellows Lodge, Music City Building and a parking lot for $1.5 million. He also owns the Montvale Hotel and has a minority stake in the old New Madison Hotel on the same block.
Through his company, Dicker and his wife, Patty, own the Bing Crosby Theater, Hotel Ruby and the space formerly occupied by Dempsey’s Brass Rail. They also own the former Burgan’s Block, now called Ruby Suites, and the Hotel Ruby 2.
Spokane Housing Ventures purchased the Connell building from Westminister Congregational Church, which is directly adjacent to the building, in 2005 for about $230,000.
Brokers for the recent sale, both of NAI Black, were Jon Jeffreys, who represented the buyer, and Steve Ridenhour, who represented GVD.
VA has plans in U-District
An office building in the University District a short distance from Rockwood Clinic is being remodeled at an estimated cost of $850,000, and has been leased to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for mental health counseling services.
The 6,000-square-foot building at 504 E. Second Ave. is being renovated by Spokane Valley-based Meridian Construction. The building is owned by Mark D’Agostino, who owns Meridian, and John Pariseau, who owns WIN Partners, a regional angel investment company.
The remodeling project is still underway,with the VA expected to take occupancy in January.
Permits issued for Katerra factory in Spokane Valley
The first permits have been issued for a Spokane Valley factory that will produce cross-laminated timber and glulam, engineered wood products that can replace concrete and steel high-rise buildings and parking garages.
The factory marks the entrance of California-based Katerra into the region. The factory is planned to be 250,000 square feet and employ 150 people. Permits issued this week are for the factory’s foundation.
According to permit data from the city of Spokane Valley, the total project cost is estimated to be $35 million. It is being built at 19202 E. Garland Lane on land owned by Centennial Properties, a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which publishes The Spokesman-Review.
The environmentally friendly products, called CLT, are made from wood scraps, which are compressed and glued together in layers, forming structural panels and beams. The products can be made from the small-diameter trees crowding Eastern Washington forests, which foresters are eager to thin to reduce wildfire intensity.
The Cowles Co. also has major forested land holdings under another subsidiary, Inland Empire Paper Co. Though the company owns 117,000 acres of timberland in the region, according to its website, it is far from the largest timber company in the Pacific Northwest. Weyerhaeuser Co., based in Federal Way, manages more than 13 million acres of timberland.