Retail Projects Gain Momentum Proposed Developments On Division Could Add 300,000 Square Feet Of Retail Space
Two of the last large vacant lots on North Division may be but a memory as plans for two new retail developments begin to take shape.
The two projects, both owned by real estate mogul Harlan Douglass, could add up to more than 300,000 new square feet of retail space, or the equivalent of three Wal-Mart stores.
One 13-acre site, at Division just south of Magnesium and the “Y,” sits atop a three-story, earth-filled retaining wall dubbed the “Great Wall of Spokane” by some neighbors.
The other site occupies about 10 acres between Wedgewood and Lyons, between Kmart and Eagle Hardware and Garden.
No tenants have committed to either location, said Douglass, who owns the land and has been trying to develop both sites for years.
Of the two, the Wedgewood-Lyons site appears closer to realization.
A site plan calls for a 139,000-square-foot project called the Diamond Shopping Center, said real estate agent Joe Ward, who is leasing the center through Pinnacle Realty.
The plan, which has been modified in the last few months, now calls for four anchor tenants, ranging in size from 25,000 to 59,000 square feet.
The plans have been in place for more than a year, but the project has been delayed by concerns about traffic.
The other site is less well defined, and Douglass said he would lease the whole lot to one tenant if the right project presented itself.
The earth-moving project, which is essentially complete, was initiated because potential tenants had trouble envisioning development on the site, which was formerly a hillside, Ward said.
“A lot of people don’t have a lot of imagination,” Ward said. “People can’t imagine what it’s going to look like.”
No plans have been drafted, but Ward said the site would yield about 170,000-square-feet of retail space.
Ward said he has begun to make preliminary inquiries among potential tenants.
“Anyone who wants to be there can be there,” he said.
For both sites, Ward said he is courting large national retailers who have not yet made it here.
“There’s a lot of them out there,” he said. “Well, not a lot. But some.”
One store that likely won’t be there is Wal-Mart, although Ward said he did send the chain an information packet. Wal-Mart has been seeking a site on Spokane’s North Side, but it’s unlikely the company would be interested in a location near the “Y,” Ward said.
“Typically, they’re not willing to pay the freight for close-in, premium properties,” he said. “They seem to be going to the outer edges of town, where land is cheaper.”