CentrePlace reborn

After sitting vacant for almost 10 years in the middle of downtown Spokane, the old J.J. Newberry and Lamonts stores are being transformed into a five-story office building to be anchored by the Bank of Whitman.

Crews are already working on interior demolition of the building on Riverside Avenue between Wall and Howard in preparation for its renovation into a 100,000-square-foot brick and glass office building.

The developer of the $12 million project is CentrePlace LLC, a joint venture by Vandervert Construction owner Dick Vandervert and his business partner Lowell McKee. Construction should take nine months, McKee said, which means the building could open by the spring of 2005.

“We’re taking it down to the concrete and steel and completely revamping it,” McKee said, including adding the additional stories. “It’s going to be a beautiful five-story centerpiece for Spokane.”

Riverside 89 LLC, owned by Al Payne, previously owned the Lamonts building and had an option to buy Newberry’s from its New Jersey-based owner. Payne said he sold his interest in the property to CentrePlace. Payne had previously proposed a similar five-story building on the site, but that deal hinged on landing law firm Paine Hamblen Coffin Brooke & Miller as the anchor tenant. The firm eventually decided to consolidate operations in the Washington Trust Financial Center.

As its anchor tenant, CentrePlace has landed the Bank of Whitman, which will establish its first major presence in downtown Spokane in a building adorned with its name. The Colfax-based bank has $300 million in assets and 16 locations in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Pullman and other small cities.

“We want to make a statement. We want to announce our presence. This is a dynamic piece of downtown renewal that we’re going to be a major part of,” said Jim Tribbett, chairman of the bank. “Spokane is one of the growth engines in our area, so we want to participate in that growth.”

The bank will occupy the first floor, joined by a coffee shop on the corner of Riverside and Howard, Tribbett said. The new bank branch will employ about 25 people, he said.

Each floor of the new building will have about 21,000 square feet of space except the top floor, which will have about 16,000 square feet, McKee said. The top floor will have an open-air terrace that could be used either for functions or by a single tenant, said W. Scott Whitesitt of ALSC Architects, who did the design.

The second floor will have an open rotunda looking down into the bank and will have space for some type of restaurant or deli, Whitesitt said. The skywalks connecting the building to those on either side of it will be reopened. Demolition of everything but the building’s skeleton could begin as early as next week, McKee said.

“We’re going to totally beautify that whole area,” McKee said. “It’s long overdue.”