Here’s the Dirt: Club spending $5 million on Valley facility

Face lifts are in store for the venerable Spokane Athletic Club, both for its image and its Valley fitness center.

The member-owned-and-operated club, known as a forum for social and professional networking, has reverted to calling itself just the Spokane Club. It’s part of an effort by the organization, founded in 1890, to stay relevant, said Mike Fleig, general manager.

“We really feel that the Spokane Club represents the club much better in that we’re much more than just an athletic club,” he said.

A $5 million renovation of its Spokane Valley facility, 5900 E. Fourth Ave., will add two indoor tennis courts, construct new locker rooms and reconfigure the conditioning room. Later phases might convert common areas to child-services spaces, expand food service and add to its pool offerings.

“The club is reinvesting in its services and amenities to continue to be relevant for today’s community, both in the Valley and downtown,” Fleig said. “That’s kind of the overriding vision and goal of our investments.”

In the Valley, the initial phase will create a second-floor mezzanine above two updated group exercise rooms, and increase the number of indoor tennis courts to eight.

The club purchased the facility, built in the 1970s, in 2000 to add tennis courts and to cater to the growing Valley population. The Valley club also offers outdoor tennis courts, a swimming pool and Jacuzzi and racquetball courts.

Funded by dues from its roughly 3,400 members, the remodel should be completed by late next year.

The organization, which also operates a hotel, restaurant and athletic facilities downtown, employs the equivalent of about 140 full-time workers, Fleig said.

Gallery moving to mall

Artisans’ Wares, the last vestige of a row of small art galleries along West First Avenue, will move a few blocks to River Park Square – a higher-traffic area.

After about three years in the Montvale Hotel building, owner Debra Brown said she plans to close that location May 31. When she reopens in a second-floor suite in the mall, next to outdoor retailer Helly Hansen, she expects to represent more than 100 local and national artists. The shop offers jewelry, fine crafts, glass, pottery and metal pieces.

Brown had watched traffic dwindle as galleries closed.

“Whereas we had four galleries right along here, now I’m the only one,” she said.

Brown plans to continue being part of First Friday art walks, joining the third-floor Kress Gallery and the Arbor Crest tasting room in the mall.

At the Montvale building, adjacent restaurant and bar Scratch intends to take over the space as a lounge, opening July 1. Business is “always busy” at the fledgling restaurant, said co-owner Connie Naccarato.

“We’re pretty limited as far as a lounge space, and it always ends up we’re using it as a dining room table because of reservations,” she said. “It’s a beautiful space, so we don’t have too much we have to do.”

Kundig honored again

Internationally known architect Tom Kundig, a Spokane native, will add another national award to his resume.

The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, this week announced Kundig, 53, will receive its award for architecture, one of nine annual categories. A principal in Seattle firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, he’s known for projects ranging from a cabin on Hayden Lake to high-rise buildings.

“At this point I’m just a little bit speechless and still trying to just understand and absorb it all,” said Kundig, adding everything he designs “has some sort of resonance back home.”

“Recognized for his seamless integration of architecture and landscape, Kundig’s projects are unique in their meticulous attention to detail and in the materials used, which are often left in their natural, raw state,” according to a museum news release. “His ingenuity is evident in the experiential nature of his work, in his use of kinetic architectural features and in his reinvention of structural elements that are often overlooked, such as doors, windows and stairs.”

Kundig has won five national AIA Institute Honor Awards and received a 2007 Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Macy’s remodelings

Macy’s department stores in north Spokane and Coeur d’Alene will be renovated. Its NorthTown Mall and Silver Lake Mall stores will see “standard enhancements,” including new fitting rooms, restrooms and new carpeting and painting, said company spokeswoman Janet De Vor. She declined to give project costs; part of the NorthTown remodel is valued at $600,000, according to a building permit.

“These are not large projects but basic ‘face lifts’ for our existing stores,” she said.

NorthTown construction should be finished by mid-July, while the Silver Lake store is expected to be done by the end of the month. No updates are planned for the downtown Spokane store, she said.