Hearing set today on use of YWCA site
The Spokane hearing examiner is taking testimony today on a proposal to replace the old YWCA building at 803 W. Broadway Ave. with two new 14-story towers for condominiums and street-level retail shops.
The hearing at 9 a.m. is set for City Council Chambers in the lower level of Spokane City Hall. SRM Development is seeking a shoreline permit to build the towers in two phases on the north bank of the Spokane River overlooking the upper falls and Riverfront Park. The property is within the shoreline boundary that is regulated by the city under state law.
Developers are required to maintain public access to the shoreline under the existing law. The City Council is currently considering a major overhaul of the city’s shoreline law, but the proposal by SRM falls under the existing shoreline regulations.
The property was available because the YWCA and YMCA are moving into a shared new facility under construction between Lincoln and Monroe streets just south of Boone Avenue. The city parks department is seeking to purchase the YMCA property on the south side of the river to include it as part of Riverfront Park.
West Central
Owner has plans for historic building
A small commercial building in West Central neighborhood would be redeveloped into commercial and residential use under a proposal headed to the Spokane city hearing examiner, who has scheduled a public hearing on the project at 9 a.m. on Nov. 25 in the second-floor conference room at City Hall.
Owners of the historic St. Paul Market building are seeking a historic conditional use permit for the project at 2023 W. Dean Ave. The proposal calls for construction of a second residential unit at the rear of the lot.
Built by Julius J. Danielsen, an immigrant from Denmark, for a butcher shop in 1905, the building was operated as the St. Paul Market and later the Dean Avenue Market, serving the turn-of-the-century residential area that surrounds it at Dean Avenue and Chestnut Street. Since the 1960s, the building was used as a showroom and storage location for an interior design business.
Mike Prager
Spokane County
Lilac Festival receives lodging tax grant
The Spokane Lilac Festival has received a lodging tax grant from the city of Spokane.
The $9,000 grant will be used to promote the Spokane community and the Lilac Festival.
The festival brings in about $4.5 million in tourism money annually during the third weekend in May.
Lisa Leinberger
Spokane County
Dodgeball tourney deadline is Tuesday
The deadline for Spokane County Parks’ fifth annual Turkeybowl Dodgeball Tournament is Tuesday.
The adult, six-on-six coed (at least two women) tournament is Nov. 26.
For more information call 477-4732 or for a registration form visit www.spokanecounty.org/parks /recreation.aspx.
Staff reports