Project is tall order for land-use planners

Condominiums are finally providing the housing downtown Spokane has desperately needed for many years. Just three years ago, the $1.8 million, 11-unit Blue Chip lofts project on West Railroad was considered so risky none of the major local banks would touch the project. Since then, developers have completed or proposed hundreds more units.

The trend has been pure sunshine for the city. Although property taxes on the new housing are deferred for 10 years, the construction generates sales tax dollars. Most of the projects completed or under way have involved the rehabilitation of existing structures, heading off potential blight. Downtown merchants and restaurateurs have secured a steady clientele that walks in. No need for parking. And because all the necessary infrastructure is already in place, the cost to the city is virtually nil.

Riverview on Riverside has cast a shadow on this happy cityscape — literally.

The project will rise 17 stories at 1404 W. Riverside. Owners Mick and Shelley McDowell have owned the site for 18 years. He says the condo craze has finally given them the chance to build the first-class residential project they always envisioned. The question is, where?

Because of a language change slipped into zoning regulations a few years ago, buildings taller than three stories are prohibited more than 100 feet off the north side of Riverside. The McDowells would have to build Riverview right on Riverside unless the city gives them permission to build down the slope to Peaceful Valley. They would prefer to front Riverside with two- or three-story office/retail buildings, with a small courtyard leading to the tower. The smaller buildings would match the scale of nearby Carnegie Square.

Not so for the tower and the scale of Peaceful Valley.

The neighborhood below Riverview remains a haven of traditional, mostly single-family housing. Residents have fought doggedly to preserve its character, and the scattered new construction has complied, in scale if not in charm. The steep slope up to Riverside has been a buffer against intrusive development, but the hillside also drapes the parallel streets in shadow much of the time, especially in winter.

The McDowells’ project, its shadow sweeping over parts of Peaceful Valley like a sundial, would add marginally to the murk. That shadow will be there no matter where the tower is positioned. If the tower is positioned at the bottom of the slope instead of the top, it would loom almost 80 feet taller, and cast a longer shadow. But the bigger problem is the gleaming glass wall the tower becomes if positioned at the bottom of the slope instead of the top.

McDowell says designer Steve Meek has tried to blend the parking floors at the foot of the structure by wrapping them in brick and adding accents like shaded windows. The appearance will be far superior to that of the exposed concrete pillars supporting Riverfalls, the “flash cube” tower nearby, he says.

But there’s only so much you can do. Picture having the downtown Washington Mutual Building plunked in your next door neighbor’s yard, and the neighborhood’s concern is understandable.

Last week, the Planning Commission organized a task force of neighborhood representatives, builders and disinterested third parties to re-examine the height limitations placed on properties north of Riverside. A relatively small area is involved, but it is one of the few open areas within downtown. Recommendations are expected in a couple months.

Meanwhile, Downtown Spokane Partnership President Marty Dickinson says that group supports the project, but wants to do best by Peaceful Valley as well. “We want the neighborhood to be healthy,” she says. “We see them as an integral part feeding into downtown.”

McDowell says Riverview will be built. He strongly prefers a tower set back from Riverside, and he’s obviously prepared to insist on it. He also says he plans a quality project, and his record in that regard is good. The AmericanWest Bank Building at downtown’s east end is as retro as Riverview would be modern, but details throughout testify to the care that went into its construction. And McDowell hints that there may be additional ways to buffer Riverview. It would be well if he could be the best neighbor he possibly can.

Downtown Spokane for decades now simply has not experienced the tensions created by clashing land uses. It’s not an altogether unwelcome problem.