Crews finish demolition of Freeman High School
Voter bonds and state matching funds come together in three-phase school district modernization project
Work crews have finished tearing down the walls of Freeman High School and expect to have a new, improved version ready for the start of school in fall 2010.
All that’s left of the old school, near Highway 27 and Jackson Road in south Spokane County, are the main gym and a practice gym.
Along with a complete new high school, the district is modernizing the main gym and converting the practice gym to a vocational-ag study area, said district Superintendent Sergio Hernandez.
The new, bigger high school is the first of three phases of projects totaling $30 million. Of that, $19.5 million is being paid by a voter-approved bond. The remainder comes from state matching funds.
The old high school was roughly 52,000 square feet. The more efficient replacement will be about 80,000 square feet, Hernandez said.
High-schoolers will use portable classrooms until the building is ready. Starting next summer, during phase two, the district will go through a full, ground-up rebuilding of the elementary school.
The third phase includes site improvements, including better parking and protective bus storage.
Levernier Construction is the general contractor for the project.
Federal courthouse to get ‘green’ makeover
The Thomas S. Foley courthouse and federal building, at 920 W. Riverside Ave., will be modernized as part of a program setting aside $5.5 billion in stimulus funds to make energy-efficient upgrades to federal buildings nationwide.
The stimulus funds will provide about $45 million for a “green” makeover of Spokane’s federal courthouse, said a spokesman with the General Services Administration.
The GSA is in the process of awarding a contract to a company to help design the project. Potential upgrades include new windows, a new roof and energy-efficient lighting. “In most of the buildings we’ll be looking at mechanical systems,” the spokesman said.
The design contract should be awarded within a couple of months, he said, and a construction contract must be awarded by Sept. 30, 2010.
Secondhand store opening near downtown
Retired insurance company owner Larry McCollim has leased an 800-square-foot building at 101 E. Nora, near downtown Spokane, to open a secondhand store.
He’s hoping to open the store Aug. 1. It will be called – tentatively – Magnificent Possessions.
Items being sold include household appliances, Christmas stuff, camping gear and anything else that fits, he said.
Broker Marshall Clark arranged the lease for McCollim.
Nutrition coach opens Spokane office
Nutrition coach Craig T. Hunt has taken an office in the Fernwell Executive Suites, 505 W. Riverside, in downtown Spokane.
Hunt is a registered dietitian and nutrition coach with a focus on overall health, including weight management and treatment of high cholesterol and blood sugar.
He also is a teaching associate in the University of Washington’s department of family medicine.
West Plains car dealer has new name
West Plains used-car dealership Automotive Services Company has renamed itself as CrossPointe Autoplex.
The company’s location, 10505 W. Highway 2, is unchanged, said owner Rich Mast.
Mast said the switch is based on determining that Web searches for the old name tended to miss finding his business by name. “You’d find lots of places offering ‘services,’ ” he said.