Here’s the Dirt : A bigger bedroom
America the Beautiful Dreamer, a store specializing in bedroom furniture, is moving out of NorthTown Mall and into its own building at 7306 N. Division St., near Costco.
The 12,000-square-foot store is a little bigger and the stand-alone building can become more of a destination for furniture shoppers than the current site, said Doug De Grange, an owner of the business.
The current store, on the main floor of the mall, next to Macy’s, attracted looks from passers by, he said, but the overall mall demographic seemed young for the specialty furniture business.
“The 22-year-old doesn’t spend $5,000 on a bedroom set,” said De Grange, who owns the business with Don Thompson. The new location will carry an expanded line of futons, along with the store’s current products, which include 35 different types of bedroom sets for adults and 35 to 50 different sets for kids.
America the Beautiful Dreamer has operated in Spokane for 12 years. It’s one of 15 stores in the 37-year-old Northwest chain, although the other stores have different ownership.
America the Beautiful Dreamer will open in its new location in September.
The mall doesn’t have a new tenant for the space yet.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. update
A Sam’s Club that was planned for the northeast corner of Nevada Street and Lincoln Road is not moving forward, according to Jennifer Holder, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Holder said the store would have been built on leased land, an arrangement the company doesn’t like, so the real estate division is searching for another location.
The changes have nothing to do with Spokane’s proposed living wage ordinance she said in an e-mail, adding, “I am working on that issue and watching it.”
Members of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane and other volunteers gathered 3,871 signatures in hopes of getting the measure, which would require big-box stores to pay $10.30 an hour plus benefits, or $12.38 without, on the November ballot.
Wal-Mart is moving forward with the Spokane Valley Sam’s Club, which will be located near the Sprague Avenue Costco and should open within the next couple years.
A new Wal-Mart Supercenter at Hayford Road and U.S. Highway 2, near Airway Heights, should open in late October.
NorthTown Mall Kohl’s expected to open before Christmas
Kohl’s, a value-priced department store, is getting ready to interview people for jobs at the new store, said Leslea Warnick, spokeswoman for NorthTown Mall.
Although representatives of the store don’t comment on opening dates until they are nearer, the company opens new locations in the spring and fall.
Two stores are in the process of moving. Rocket, a comic book store, is moving into a larger suite on the second level near Sears. Mary Lou’s Music Boxes & Gifts, the former tenant, has moved downstairs to a suite in the center of the mall. Rocket is also changing its name to The Comic Book Store.
The church at 57th Avenue and Palouse Highway is gone
Covenant Christian Church has been demolished and it’s still unclear as to what will happen on the property, which local developer Harlan Douglass purchased last summer.
Ron Hand, development assistance coordinator for Spokane County, said demolition and grading permits have been issued, but the developer hasn’t applied for any building permits.
Although it was speculated that the store could become a Wal-Mart, Jennifer Holder, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the company isn’t interested in that land.
Company wants to build Liberty Lake apartments
Greenstone Construction has applied for a permit to build 114 apartments. The project would be built north of Mission Avenue and west of Bitterroot Street on a road that has yet to be named, the notice of application said.
Bitterroot Lodge Apartments would have 19 buildings with six apartments and a clubhouse. The city is currently taking comments on the project, which is under review.