Mall To Mall Activity Workers Are Bustling To Open Valley Shopping Center On Time - Aug. 13

Glowing neon tubes circle the ceilings. Crystal foot bridges cross between steel towers. Music fills the hall and glass skylights beam overhead.

What sounds like a description of the Emerald City is a lot closer to home.

It’s the Spokane Valley Mall.

The much-awaited, two-level, multi-million dollar retail complex is on schedule to open August 13.

And, oh, just wait until you get inside.

“There’s the great expanse of the courts, and the glass crossbridges, and the tie back to the river theme,” said Rex Frazier, president of Salt Lake City-based J.P. Realty, the mall’s developer. “The utilization of lighting gives you a different ambiance.”

Inside the mall, construction workers are abuzz, as they finish retail sites and place signs. Merchandisers at the Bon Marche, Sears and J.C. Penney busily arrange store displays.

Employees of the Act III multi-plex cinemas, the Spokane Valley 12, carefully hang heavy velvet curtains.

Across the way, at Tony Roma’s restuarant, workers scurry about, washing windows.

A handful of mall retailers - Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Lane Bryant and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels - are almost ready for business. Other tenants are working around the clock to meet next month’s grand opening deadline.

“Some of them are working ungodly hours, like 18 hours a day,” said Richard Ryberg, the mall’s project manager, admitting that his own 12-hour work days have been exhausting. “I do go home and shower occasionally as a public service.”

The mall itself, at 750,000 square feet, is a bright, open expanse - the equivalent of 3-1/2 football fields. White and gray tiles speckle the floors. Teal-capped gables top the elevator, and curvy aluminum strips hang from the food court.

“These are the elements that we didn’t have to do, but we wanted to spend on because it makes the mall look nicer,” said Byron Orton, mall manager. “There are a lot of graphic elements that aren’t in place yet.”

He points to the glass railings that span the mall’s second floor.

“See, we could have put bars in here, but we wanted glass.”

And there’s lots of it: 11,000 square feet of glass skylight panels. All of the footbridges are made of frosted glass cubes, colored from below by blue neon tubes.

The “graphic elements” Orton mentions are the benches, kiosks and 35-foot resort-style palm trees that will be added shortly before the grand opening.

The mall layout is unique, said Orton. There is no parking garage, and the mall’s parking lot slopes uphill to allow easy second-floor access.

Folks who use the Centennial Trail can roll right up to the front door, Frazier said.

“People can Rollerblade, bike, run and stop at the mall, be refreshed and go on their way,” he said.

Mall officials predict that people will like parking outside, instead of inside weaving, sandwiched parking garages.

“NorthTown did the best with what they had, and parking garages are fine,” Orton said. “Where we have this open acreage, we had opportunities to do other types of design.”

The food court, dubbed “Riverfront Cafe” holds 500 people, and will feature an array of eateries: Edo Japan, Taco Time, Quizno’s Subs, Mario’s Pizza, Orange Julius, Cinnabon and the Great Steak and Potato Co. Patio seating will be available on sunny days.

Construction of the mall has taken about 5 million hours of labor, with more than 500,000 square feet of dirt moved.

“We built the majority of the mall with local labor and local resources,” said Ryberg, noting the alumninum discs on the mall’s exterior.

About 1,000 temporary and permanent jobs were created during the mall’s construction, Frazier said, and more than 500 retail jobs will be created once the mall opens.

Local tenants make up about 10 percent to 20 percent of the Spokane Valley Mall’s retail mix. The rest are regional chain stores or national franchises, he said.

Frazier said there is room in Spokane for both the Spokane Valley Mall and NorthTown.

“Competition is good. We defined a two-mall market,” Frazier said. “NorthTown was there, and the Valley had the fragments of the old U-City mall. We are meeting the needs of retailers, who are meeting the demands of their retail shoppers.”

NorthTown officials plan to launch a new ad campaign this fall to tout the strong points of the North Side mall.

“I consider them a main competitor,” said Sherry Burton, NorthTown’s director of marketing. “It certainly makes sense for us to re-emphasize our position in the market.”

But even Burton agrees that the new mall will be good for the local economy.

“I think competition is good for everybody. It will keep all of us on our toes.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 6 Color Photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Spokane Valley Mall tenants This is a list of businesses that have leased space in the Spokane Valley Mall, as of July 9. The mall is scheduled to open on August 13. Anchors Act III Theaters Bon Marche JC Penney Sears

Clothing and shoes Athletic Fitters Brauns Fashion Champs Sports Footlocker Hamer’s Kids Footlocker Kinney Kids Lady Footlocker Lane Bryant Mr. Rags Victoria’s Secret Zumeiz

Jewelery Ben Bridge Jewelers Fred Meyer’s Jewelers Gordon’s Jewelers Zales

Music Musicland Sam Goody

Optical LensCrafters Vista Optical

Hair salons MasterCuts Regis Hairstylists

Specialty Bath & Body Works Card Farm Cartoon Classics Glennie’s Hallmark GNC Hi Tek Nails Kiddie Kandids Mariposa Pilgrim’s Nutrition Sunglass Hut Waldenbooks

Food Auntie Anne’s Pretzels Cinnabon Edo Japan Great Steak and Potato Co. Mario’s Pizza Orange Julius Quizno’s Subs Surf City Squeeze Sweet Factory Thomas Hammer Coffee Co.

Other Tilt Trade Secret - Sam Francis