City Terminal Plans Progressing Downtown Development Will Be Block Of Eclectic Businesses

The old Carnation Dairy “C” will soon lead Spokane residents and visitors to a new kind of downtown shopping and dining area - City Terminal.

“It’s similar to the Davenport Arts District, but smaller and more controlled,” said developer Rob Brewster. “It will be a district where people can park their car and spend the whole day or evening.”

City Terminal encompasses the nine buildings bounded by Monroe Street on the east, Madison Street on the west, First Avenue on the north and the railroad viaduct on the south.

As envisioned, City Terminal will be one square block of eclectic shops, cafes, bars, galleries, artist studios, a coffeehouse and apartments. A hotel and arthouse movie theater are also part of the plans.

Already in place are a billiards hall, a hemp import company, a design studio and the do-it-yourself pottery painting shop Art By Yourself.

It’s an effort to get beyond chain stores and malls, he said, by creating a unique shopping and entertainment area.

“The focus of the whole project is the alley,” said Brewster.

The alley, he said, will be beautified with the addition of a plaza, plants and eventually a cobbled street. Soon, work will begin on removing the bricks that cover windows opening onto the alley and replacing garage doors with storefronts.

In addition to the costs to acquire the properties, developing the project will cost about $3 million, plus $3.5 million to renovate a hotel on the upper floors of the Montvale Building, located on the southwest corner of First and Monroe. It’s the most visible building in the development. Brewster said he is still looking for financing for that project.

Brewster estimates the entire City Terminal project will be completed in two to three years.

Also investing in City Terminal are Jill Smith, owner of EarthGoods LLC - a local company that imports hemp fabrics - and Seattle investors Wade Ballanger and Anne Wyman.

In addition to investors, retail business owners are also staking their companies on the project’s success.

Andrew Sackville-West owns Far West Billiards, located on the first floor of the Montvale Building.

He signed a lease to move into the building before City Terminal was even envisioned.

“When I first went in that area, there wasn’t really any definitive plan,” he said. “I just saw a great building that had really great potential. That’s what sold me on the neighborhood.”

Now, however, Sackville-West is excited about City Terminal plans.

“What I’m hoping comes of this is an area of redevelopment more of what you’d see in other cities where you have a vibrant, multicultural, multi-use urban environment” he said.

He compares it to the Adams Morgan district in Washington, D.C., a three- by six-block area of shops, restaurants and apartments.

“City Terminal will be a place with different storefronts, with things tucked away in corners that will make it interesting.”

Around town

The Wilderness Sports Exchange has opened at 915 W. Broadway Ave. The store is a consignment retail operation specializing in secondhand outdoor equipment, including skiing, snowboarding, backpacking, climbing, diving and fly-fishing gear. The business is owned by Carol Dell and Lon McRae.

Two new stores are set to open at River Park Square for the holiday season. The first, abercrombie opens Friday. The shop is the children’s arm of Abercrombie & Fitch, specializing in clothing for kids ages 7-14. Only the second abercrom- bie store in the Pacific Northwest, it will be located across from Abercrombie & Fitch on the second level of the mall.

In mid-December, Aveda will open a boutique shop next door to Sunglass Hut on the second level of River Park Square. Aveda sells skin and hair care products as well as cosmetics.

The Hotel Group Inc. is opening a Holiday Inn Express in Lewiston. It is set to open with 79 rooms in spring 2001. … The Sports Outlet is opening a second Spokane location in the former Outdoor Sportsman building at 1602 N. Division, said owner Jeff Young. The existing location at 13917 E. Sprague will also remain open. … Bad news for the nation’s retailers. A new survey conducted by America’s Research Group has found that 37 percent of consumers are spending less. The number one reason cited for the cutbacks (by 43 percent of those polled) was higher gas prices.