New NC parking lot to open in fall

The piles of rubble along Indiana between Washington and Stevens streets mean North Central High School’s new parking lot and softball field are a step closer to completion.

“This is a project that has long been needed for student safety and to reduce congestion in the neighborhood,” said Spokane Public Schools Associate Superintendent Mark Anderson. “It will be a real improvement for them.”

North Central’s neighbors have long voiced concerns about streets clogged and driveways blocked by students’ cars. NC’s main parking lot now has just 30 slots available for seniors. The school has about 1,400 students.

The school’s $969,000 project will be completed by Spokane’s Red Diamond Construction, which returned the lowest bid. Workers will demolish the former Tranny Shack, Wicker and Rattan shop, Gobee’s Automotive, the district’s former music center, and a small strip mall that included a Radio Shack and various other businesses through the years – all properties that the district has slowly been acquiring since 1992, in anticipation of a bond that would allow for a remodel of the North Central campus. The bond passed by voters in March 2003, did just that.

Dolly’s restaurant, also located along Indiana, will remain intact.

The new, 101-stall lighted parking lot will sit north of the school along Howard Street, where the girls softball field is currently. It is scheduled for completion before the start of the next school year.

Since the parking lot will eliminate the softball field, the project also includes the creation of a new fast- and slow-pitch softball field and 300-seat bleachers.

The field should be ready for use by the spring of 2005.

The parking lot and softball field represent phase one of North Central’s improvements. Phase two, which is in the beginning of the design phase, includes a completely upgraded air system. That project is scheduled to take about 16 months to complete.

The design firm for both projects is Bernardo-Wills Architects.