Complex along river to house shops, restaurants

A New Orleans-themed building that once housed Bayou Brewery Co. is being revamped into Riverwalk Plaza, a riverside complex with offices, shops and restaurants.

The 75,800-square-foot building, which sits on roughly four acres and includes about 1,500 square feet of river frontage, was purchased by MGD at GU LLC, a company that acquires and develops commercial property.

Tom Vincent, a former partner in Bayou, was the seller in the deal that closed last week.

“We don’t think we can go wrong on this location,” said Mark Baier, who owns the property with business partners Gavin Swenson and David Birge of Adept Escrow Service Inc.

Although the men declined to specifically name the purchase price, they said that planned renovations will bring their total investment to $4.5 to $5 million.

Extensive exterior updates will create a new façade with balconies on an upper floor that covers a portion of the building. That top floor will likely house offices or artist’s lofts.

The section of the building that currently houses Riverview Thai Restaurant and Northern Lights Brewery will retain its cobblestone floors and other interesting features, including ceilings that are more than 20 feet high, a feature common throughout the building.

Interiors for new tenants will be built-to-suit, said Baier, adding that two businesses, including a gym, already have expressed interest in locating there.

Nystrom Olson Collins Inc. is designing the plaza and Jeff Kilgore will do the construction, said Birge, who expects renovations to get under way this spring and wrap up by the end of 2007.

Riverwalk Plaza is nestled in an area that’s being infused with millions of dollars of projects. Gonzaga University and the adjacent Riverpoint higher education campus are continuing to expand. Across the river, Iron Bridge has added commercial buildings and a 12-unit condo project recently was announced there.

Nearby investment was a draw for the partners, said Baier, adding, “We’re excited about the money that’s being spent in this area.”

With the building’s proximity to the college and new commercial development in Iron Bridge, the partners envision the complex including another restaurant or coffee shop along with a bookstore or other retailers.

“Our thinking is you’ve got all those people in offices and they are going to want to go somewhere for services,” Birge said.

Birge said the building has an interesting history. It was built in the early 1900s and, in the 1970s and 1980s, served as a bus depot.

The group plans to clean up a pathway that connects the building to the Centennial Trail to improve access for bicyclists and runners.