Construction To Shut Down Two Skywalks Bridge To Library, Burlington Coat Factory Will Reopen In 1999

Wed., April 30, 1997

By Alison Boggs alisonb@spokesman.com (509) 459-5314

Two downtown Spokane skywalks will be closed for the next two years to make way for the redevelopment of River Park Square.

Skywalks connecting the downtown shopping center to the Spokane Public Library and to Burlington Coat Factory will close on the evening of May 11.

The skywalks will reopen when the $100 million redevelopment of River Park Square is complete in the spring of 1999.

“This is the first step in our preparations for construction to begin on the new River Park Square,” said Betsy Cowles, president of the two companies that own the shopping center.

The redevelopment of River Park Square will include a new Nordstrom store, a multiscreen cinema, open-air atrium and other shops and restaurants.

The closure of the skywalks will allow construction crews to begin removing asbestos from parts of the west block of River Park Square. Developers expect the asbestos removal to take one to two months.

Though library officials support the redevelopment project, they are concerned about the two-year closure of a library entrance. The library and skywalk were built in 1990 with a $28.9 million library bond in 1990. The library and skywalk opened in January 1994.

“When we have story hour, the kids use (the skywalk). They will now have to cross Lincoln Street. That’s certainly something to consider,” said Dolly Richendrfer, manager of community relations for the library. “We are concerned that usage is going to drop.”

Library patrons still will be able to enter the library from its street-level entrance at Lincoln and Main and through the library’s parking garage, accessible from Spokane Falls Boulevard.

“The downtown library will maintain the same services and service hours throughout this construction period,” said Library Director Aubrey George, adding that the library will keep customers up to date on new developments regarding skywalk access through fliers, newsletters and its home page on the World Wide Web.

The Library Board of Trustees is working with River Park Square developers to make sure there will be a skywalk connection between the library and the new Nordstrom store at the west end of River Park Square.

That has been a point of contention because originally, Nordstrom officials said they did not want skywalks from the library and Burlington Coat Factory entering the new store. Nordstrom was concerned that additional entrances to the store would cut down on merchandising space.

Bob Robideaux, project manager for River Park Square, said no decisions have been made as to where the skywalks will connect to the completed development.

It has not been decided yet who will pay for work related to the library skywalk.

After asbestos has been removed, Robideaux said, the skywalks will be taken down and possibly placed in storage so they can be reinstalled when the development is complete.

“We think they can be re-utilized,” Robideaux said. Demolition of the west wing of the existing River Park Square will begin after the skywalks are removed, though no date has been set for that work.

Other skywalks connecting to River Park Square and the parking garage elevator system will remain open, Cowles said.

River Park Square is owned by Citizens Realty Co. and Lincoln Investment Co., affiliates of Cowles Publishing Co., owner of The Spokesman-Review.

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