Developer, Neighbors Disagree Over Hawthorne Manor Plans
One of Spokane’s oldest nursing and retirement homes will have to relocate from Hawthorne Avenue if county commissioners don’t approve a $21.5 million expansion, developers warned late Tuesday.
But residents of the Country Homes neighborhood near the North Division Y urged commissioners to reject Hawthorne Manor’s project as too intrusive.
After nearly three hours of impassioned and well-rehearsed pleas from both sides, commissioners set July 11 as their decision date.
Hawthorne Manor, a Spokane fixture since 1956 at 101 E. Hawthorne Road, can’t meet fire or Medicare codes without $6.9 million in renovations to existing buildings, Administrator Marilyn Teets said.
The upgrades would include a sprinkler system and sanitary sewers.
To pay for it, the non-profit Seattle organization that owns Hawthorne Manor wants to build a three-story, 93-unit apartment complex for retirees age 62 and up. The total project including upgrades would cost $21.5 million and be financed over 20 years with tax-exempt bonds and revenues from new residents.
“It’s not feasible for us to stay there if we can’t build 93 apartment units,” said Bob Barwell, executive director of owner, Presbyterian Ministries.
Nearby homeowners said they are torn. Hawthorne Manor and its residents have been “delightful” neighbors for four decades, but a 40-foot-tall building and increased traffic would overwhelm their peaceful enclave, they said. “We like Hawthorne Manor,” said resident Gerry Kittel. “We’re probably all going to be there sooner or later. They’re lovely people.”
Critics of the expansion have offered a compromise of two stories and 61 units, but the developers said 93 apartments is the break-even number.
“We really do feel like we’re an island in all this (Division Street and Newport Highway) development, countered homeowner Candace Dahlstrom.
About 60 people, some nursing home residents aided by walkers, were split evenly over the project.
Lawyer Mike Connelly, who represents the opponents, said commissioners cannot allow zoning changes based on “fear or the bottom line - the profit margin.” County planners recommend approval of the project.
, DataTimes