New 195-Unit Retirement Complex Planned At Fourth And Evergreen

A second large retirement complex is coming to the Spokane Valley this year.

Arger Capital Corp. will begin construction of a 195-unit retirement facility at Fourth Avenue and Evergreen Road this summer. The project received the needed rezone and land-use changes last week, just days after Spokane county hearing examiner Mike Dempsey approved a 110-unit retirement complex on East Broadway Avenue, less than a mile to the north.

Together, the two projects will bring about 150 senior citizen apartments to the Valley by next spring. The vast majority will fall into the independent living category.

The Arger Capital project will be called Orchard Crest Retirement Community. It’s being touted as the most upscale retirement facility ever planned for the Valley.

Arger owns the land, about eight acres on the northwest corner of Evergreen and Fourth, and will develop the property. Smith Enterprises will operate the facility.

The retirement center will include a main building and six triplexes, said Gregory Arger, who owns Arger Capital with his brother, Prokey. The main building will be four stories at its tallest and will include an assisted living wing with at least 40 units.

The complex will include a 5,000-square-foot dining room with dance floor, country store, computer room, exercise room and beauty salon. The top floor will include a 2,500-square-foot movie theater that will also serve as a chapel.

Most of the complex will be dedicated to independent living apartments, which will include kitchens, patios, and weekly housecleaning service. The apartments will range from 500-square-foot studios to 1,600-square-foot penthouse suites. Lease rates will start at about $1,200 and go to about $2,200. The rate will include one meal a day and utilities.

A handful of neighbors opposed the density and size of the proposed facility, but Dempsey concluded that the project would fill a need in the community, and would not have a negative impact on roads or quality of life in the neighborhood.

The site is located just south of a Target store, and is close to other shopping facilities, jobs and major transportation routes. The triplexes and planned landscaping, Dempsey said, will buffer nearby single-family homes from the large main building.

The main building will face Evergreen. Construction of its connected second phase, including the assisted living wing, could begin this year if demand warrants it. Four of the six triplexes also will be part of the second phase.